The Wedding Planner
by Andromeda Writes
Summary: She's the wedding planner, but at least he's not the groom. AU
1. Chapter 01: Unwanted

**Disclaimer**: What a disaster it would be if I had any rights to The Lunar Chronicles or its characters.

* * *

The portscreen built into the right corner of her desk binged. She accepted the call with a tap of a cloth-gloved finger.

"Their Imperial Majesties, Prince Regent Hikaru and Prince Kai, are here for their first appointment, Cinder."

She rubbed her fingers across her brow, standing up, "Send them in. Thank you, Iko."

The door of her office _whoosh_ed open and they stepped in, accompanied by Iko, whose eyes were wide as she backed out of the office. Kai was wearing an old, faded grey sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, while Hikaru was dressed in a pair of slacks, a cream silk button-up, and a tie. They were complete opposites.

Cinder leaned into a deep bow, "Your Highness, it is an honor to be asked to plan your wedding to Her Majesty, Queen Levana of Luna." She turned to Kai, "It's a pleasure to be in your presence as well, Prince Kai."

"I hear you're the best in the entire Commonwealth," Hikaru replied, bowing back to her. "You're quite… young. How old are you?"

Cinder straightened from her bow and gave him a cautious look, a sly grin on her lips. "Nineteen. It's uncommon for someone to be so young and good at what they do, I know, but I-I'm pretty uncommon."

"I can see that," Hikaru muttered.

Kai cut in, "It's a pleasure, Miss Linh."

She gestured for them to sit down and took her seat once again, "As far as being the best in the Commonwealth goes, I can't promise that that's the truth, but I will do my best."

Kai smiled, his ears shading pink. Cinder pretended not to notice.

Hikaru cleared his throat, "You can trust that this isn't exactly what I want."

"I think everyone in the Earthen Union knows that, Your Highness. What a shame you could not have been born one minute after Prince Kai, rather than one minute before." Kai sniggered from beside his brother. Cinder grinned, glad he hadn't taken offense to her offhand comment, but quickly regained composure. "Also, I'd like to offer the both of you my condolences for your father. His passing was a true tragedy." She dropped her eyes to the table.

"Thank you," Hikaru replied solemnly.

Cinder ejected the netscreen from her desk and began to type away on it, "Let's get started, then, yeah? Obviously, we'll be going with the traditional red and gold silk robes embroidered with traditional kanji and pictogrpahs of the Commonwealth." At the Prince Regent's simple nod, she moved on. "Are there any particular world leaders you would like to not be invited? I'm aware that it would be rude not to invite someone important, but I have to ask."

"The entire court of Luna, including Levana herself," Hikaru said, sitting back against the chair, his arms crossed over his chest.

Cinder exhaled a small laugh, "Unfortunately, I cannot fulfill that request. I can fulfill any request that doesn't involve basically calling the wedding off completely." She rested her forearms on her desk, wringing her hands together. "I know… I know this is the worst thing that's probably ever happened to you. Queen Levana is… quite difficult to please."

"Aren't they all?" Hikaru mumbled.

Kai dragged his fingers through his hair, patting his brother on the shoulder with a free hand. "Gah, _Lunars._"

Hikaru leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his stark eyes piercing hers. It struck her how much he resembled his late mother. Brown hair, golden eyes, rounder features – whereas his own twin had inherited his father's black hair, caramel-brown eyes, and his sharp jaw-line. The former's voice was also an entire octave deeper. "Invite everyone important, I don't care. Whatever will cause the least amount of drama. Stars above know I could use as little stress as possible on what will be worst day of my life."

"The least amount of drama. I can do that." Cinder's eyes fell to her lap, unsure of what else to say. "As far as the wedding in general goes, I-I-there's nothing I can do about it, Your Highness. I'm sorry, but I...I'm only the planner."

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not really in the mood for this. I'm sorry. I'm going to head back to the hover. Thank you for your time, Miss Linh. I'm sure that we'll meet again, unfortunately." He stood and started to head to the door.

Cinder jumped to her feet. "You can-," she called to his back, though the door slid shut behind him, "-call me Cinder."

Kai flushed, sighing. "I'm sorry about him."

"You've nothing to apologize for," she told him, sitting back in her plush office chair and tapping the netscreen so that it would return to the desk. "She dug her claws in before the Emperor's body was even cold." She pressed her lips, "I know this is a tough time for you. I will help in any way I can, but I am pretty limited in my abilities."

"May I call you Cinder?" She nodded and his smile almost reached his eyes, "Do you have a family, Cinder?"

She wrapped her arms around herself, "I have Iko."

"An android?"

A shrug. A tremble of her lips. "My stepsister, Peony, died the day before the antidote was announced." An unsteady hand went to her heart. Her eyes dropped away from him; she was suddenly more interested in the mahogany of her work desk. "I cut ties with my stepmother and stepsister the day I turned 18. Never looked back. So yes, I have an android."

"I'm sorry." His voice was suddenly softer, sadder. "Three weeks ago. The day after my father died. Impeccable timing, as it always is."

"Long live the Emperor." Cinder set about fixing her hair, pulling it down and readjusting the hair tie in it. There was a short, awkward period of silence before Cinder looked back up at him, "Why did you ask?"

Kai lifted a shoulder, "I just needed to know if you can understand anything we're going through. I suppose that answer's yes."

"I suppose." Cinder rose to her feet, "We're already behind, but I think we can make it work. We'll start on this again tomorrow, when His Highness is hopefully feeling better."

Kai frowned as she approached him, "Again, I'm sorry about him. It's been… difficult."

"I know," Cinder said, her voice small. She led him to the door and gave him another bow before he left.

She latched the door and then pressed her forehead into the frame. The next two weeks were sure going to test her patience. It wasn't Hikaru's fault, she knew. And the pay would be good! She could start saving up again! However, between Prince Hikaru's noncooperation and Prince Kai just _looking _at her with that lovely and perpetual smile on his face…, she was sure she would lose her head.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Mmmmm. My first multi-chapter fic that I've actually wanted to write for a long time! (Uncharted doesn't count. Uncharted is its own demon.) So, some real quick things: This is an AU and, to limit the amount of things I have to deal with in this story, Glamour is not a thing and while Letumosis is a thing, it's just a very advanced bacterial infection in this fic. Also, if you didn't catch it, Hikaru is an OC and Kai's fraternal twin who was born 1 minute before him, thus making him 1st in line for the throne.

Um. I feel like I had more to add, but that's it so far. I've got the first four chapters all written up, but don't expect regular updates. School starts back in two days so you know how that goes! I have this entire story planned out, though, so it shouldn't be too bad.

edit: I was lazy and did not do proper research on the Commonwealth's background re: traditions, and was corrected and made the needed changes

PS: It gets better. I'm referring to the following chapters, but you can take that however you need it.

PPS: This fic is dedicated to the lovely lovelunarchron! :)


	2. Chapter 02: Best Intentions

**Disclaimer**: The Lunar Chronicles is not, fortunately and unfortunately, mine. That's a good thing.  
**Side Note**: Shout out to lovelunarchron, who came up with the title and to whom I'm dedicating this fic! ;)

* * *

The crimson drapes covering his windows had long lost their luster, the sun having faded them to a dull red. Now the sun's rays were covering the plush, beige carpet, illuminating the corners of his bedroom.

Kai dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to give himself enough reasons to get out of bed so early. They had breakfast and then a meeting with the pretty wedding planner at 08:00 sharp.

Stars, she's _pretty_. He let out a long, low groan. Things were too serious right now. He had no time for frivolous flings. Besides, he was a prince. He wouldn't ruin the life of a civilian with any sort of relationship. If the press so much as caught wind of anything, even if there were other people around and they were discussing something as boring as the shape of the wedding cake, she wouldn't be left alone for at least a year. And any time he entered another serious relationship, they'd eat her alive.

He threw his legs over the side of his bed and cradled his head in his arms. He shouldn't be entertaining the idea, especially not with hypotheticals. She was a normal girl. He would be nothing more than an unwanted interruption.

But she was pretty, and he decided that that was the only thought he'd entertain. It was probably the only thing he'd been sure about since his father's death, so it was nice to have something to hold onto.

Kai let out a lengthy yawn and set about getting ready for the day. Intentionally or unintentionally, he'd used his favorite cologne and wore his favorite shirt with his favorite light jacket and actually brushed his hair down. Intentionally or unintentionally.

He walked into the breakfast room and took a seat across from his brother.

Hikaru leaned over, a crooked smirk on his lips, "Someone got all dressed up for our meeting today."

Kai lifted an eyebrow, "What? No, this is just – I dress like this every other day."

"You think she's cute, don't you?"

He cleared his throat as an android set the plate of food before him. "Who's cute?"

"Cinder. You know, the wedding planner? You might not have caught on to her name while you were too busy admiring her _presence_."

"Don't be ridiculous," he told him, shaking his head. "I'm not stupid, Hikaru. I know better than that."

His brother sat back, laughing. "Yeah, all right. So why is it you've suddenly decided to retire the sweatshirt for the day?"

"It's hot outside," he replied through his teeth, stabbing at his breakfast with his chopsticks.

"It was hot yesterday." Hikaru quirked an eyebrow, "So, why the jacket?"

Kai finally shoved a bite into his mouth, his eyes falling to the floral centerpiece at the table. His brother continued to laugh, but he didn't look at him.

"Stars, imagine you taking a _civilian _to the royal wedding. Think of all the press! I can see it now. 'Prince goes after nameless wedding planner.' And the gossip columns! 'She's pregnant', 'she's Lunar', 'she's a _cyborg'_. People eat those tabloids up, you know."

Kai stiffened, "Father annulled the CPA three years ago. Even if the stigma remains, her being a cyborg wouldn't be relevant."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, "You and your love for half-robots. Either way, the press would eat her alive."

"I told you. I don't think she's cute and I know better than that."

"Mmmm, but you do think she's cute."

Kai's eyes flickered to him. "That's also irrelevant."

Kai almost hated his brother. Hikaru could always read him, no matter how hard Kai tried to hide his feelings and thoughts. His mother said it was twin telepathy. His father said it was Hikaru being observant. Hikaru just said Kai was too obvious about everything. That was probably true. Of course, he couldn't hate his brother. Hikaru was always there for him. Even when their father died and Queen Levana swooped in for the kill, to forge a marriage alliance with the Commonwealth – which meant marrying Hikaru, who was at least fifteen years her junior – he was there for Kai. They still mourned their father together. Hikaru didn't even often bring up how he felt about his predicament.

One whole minute. Sixty seconds. That's all it would've taken for Kai to be in Hikaru's place.

He couldn't imagine what his brother was going through. So, no, he didn't hate him. He never would.

* * *

Cinder pulled up various types of floral centerpieces on the netscreens behind her desk. "Queen Levana specifically requested orchids, but said she would settle for lilies if they're what you would prefer. I pulled up three different types of orchids on the screens and I need you, Hikaru, to tell me which you like best."

She was wearing a really nice purple cotton shirt with a black blazer over top of it and black jeans. Even with her hair in a messy pony tail, Kai couldn't take his eyes off of her. Which was bad. So, very, very bad.

"Does it matter?" Hikaru muttered.

Cinder scratched the back of her head, "Uh, well, kind of, yeah. It's all about what you and the bride want-"

"I don't want _any _of this!" He snapped. "You know what I want? I want this whole thing called off." He stood up, "I need a drink," and then stormed out.

Maybe he brought up how he felt about his predicament now and then.

Kai massaged his temples, "I'm sorry he's being so difficult."

Cinder sent away the photos and glared at Kai, "Will you ever teach your brother to stop running from his problems?"

"You couldn't possibly understand what he's going through."

She deflated and sat in her office chair, shutting her eyes, "I'm sorry, you're right."

Kai wet his lips, "Do you-is it okay if I make the decisions instead?" He'd almost asked if she just wanted to make all of the decisions, but that would've meant that he would've seen her again only by chance encounters and on the wedding day. He couldn't have that.

"If you're willing to attend all the meetings and actually be here mentally, then yes. I'm sure your brother will be more than thrilled to pass the planning off to you."

He smirked, "Unfortunately, it means you're stuck with me almost every day for the next week, at least."

Cinder returned his smile, "Now, I don't see anything unfortunate about that, Y-Your Highness."

"Just Kai. You can call me Kai."

* * *

"_Oh! My! Stars_!" Iko squealed, jumping up and down. Cinder could already feel a headache coming on. "You and Prince Kai! Working together, alone, for a whole week! Every day!"

Cinder reclined across the couch, her gaze trained on the patterned ceiling of her small apartment. "Iko, you're being ridiculous. Like always."

"He could fall in love with you!" She continued. "You could be a _princess_, Cinder!"

She tilted her head to look at the android, "And why would he fall in love with me?"

Iko tapped her chin, "Because you're going to look extra cute during that entire time! And you have the purest intentions of any 19-year-old girl in the presence of _Prince Kai_! How could he not?"

Android reasoning could be so simplistic. Cinder pulled her thin black cotton gloves off and ran her human hand through her scraggly hair, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not stupid, Iko. I know better than that. But, stars, he was so handsome today. You saw him all dressed up, right? I'm sure it was because he had other royal things to attend to afterwards, but I honestly just wanted to _die_."

Iko screeched, "You're so in love!"

"I don't think that's what I'd call it."

"Well, we can still dress you up tomorrow! Just for fun."

"And what would be pure about those intentions, Iko?" She asked, wrapping the hair tie around her wrist, her mousy hair fanning under her.

The android tittered, plopping down cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch, "Absolutely nothing, of course."

Cinder dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. The light of the setting sun infiltrated the pulled blinds, casting shadows on the plush beige carpet. She swallowed hard, hoping her feelings had gone down too.

She hated herself. Because of course she would gladly take Iko's fashion advice for the next week or so. Because of course her own intentions were impure.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So! Not sure how long this fic will end up being, though probably not super long. I don't know. I've always been a really concise person and there's never enough development and whine whine whine (thank the stars I'm not going into writing for a living, right?). Anyway! Um. I hope you're liking it so far? And if not, I'm sorry?

Also! Forgot to mention it last chapter - eventually, the rest of our lovely characters will make their appearances. :)

ALSO. I'm sorry for talking so much this A/N, but I know I mentioned that I've written these ahead of time (I'm posting this because I've either finished chapter 6 or am half finished with it, which was my goal before posting), but I'm doing that so that if life gets hectic or if I'm stuck with a horrible case of writer's block (I have been writing almost nonstop since mid-November so I'm waiting for it :/), you still get relatively regular updates! See, everyone wins.


	3. Chapter 03: Infatuation

**Disclaimer**: If the Lunar Chronicles were mine, I would not be wasting my time writing fanfiction, would I? Exactly.

* * *

Cinder paced the length of the area in front of the netscreen wall of her office. "The music is probably the second hardest part of this, behind picking the food. Pleasing the guests is never an easy feat and, in a situation like this one – you know, where half the guests hate the other half – it'll be even more difficult than usual. That's why deciding on the best orchestra is key in making this go smoothly." She tapped one screen and it began to play an orchestral performance of a wedding march.

Kai didn't really hear her explanations for the different orchestras and their interpretations of each specific march. He was struck by her intelligence, how even her anxious stutter seemed only to accentuate the extent of her knowledge. Paired with her melodic voice, he could probably listen to her read from a phone book every day for the rest of his life and be the happiest man alive.

But he wouldn't entertain the thought. He swore he wouldn't.

"Are you listening to me?" Cinder stopped the music and planted her hands on her hips, impatiently tapping one of her pinkies. "Kai?"

His eyes focused again. He sat up a little straighter, "Uh, sorry. I liked the second one."

"'The second one'?" She asked incredulously. "We agreed that when you're here, you're completely here. That's the only thing keeping Prince Hikaru from being in the chair next to you."

His fingers slid through his hair, "Ah, sorry. I got distracted."

"By what?" She fumed, frustrated.

"You," he replied.

Cinder opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the words, but all she managed was, "S-s-so-sorry?"

Kai's ears were completely red, and the blush was spreading to his face. "I, I just- you're very smart, Cinder. You're so intelligent. I got carried away listening to you just talk about these orchestras like you've been studying them your entire life."

"Oh." Her voice was small and she habitually tugged at the hem of her left glove. Her gloves were white today, matched to her cerulean silk blouse and white slacks. "I suppose I should say thank you, then." Her smile was shy, "Thank you, Kai. I, uh, I have an extensive knowledge of many things."

"I can tell."

If Cinder could blush, she would've had to leave the room until she could get a hold of herself. "Anyway, so the 'second one' is one of the most popular orchestras from Central America. They're very well known for their more erratic music style." She went on, going into the price – though the budget was virtually limitless, where they would be seated in the celebration hall, and what songs they'd perform for the reception.

It was an hour and a half before they'd finally made all of the decisions. As soon as Cinder typed out all of the plans and saved it, she whistled. "Well, now. One of the many hard parts is over."

"One down, too many to go," Kai mumbled.

Cinder started tapping away on her netscreen again, "Let's get to work on food. It'll take quite a bit of time, because there's plenty to go over and a lot of choices to be made. Picking a good caterer is vital. And then we'll be finished for today. Tomorrow, our meeting will be at 13:00. We have a cake testing and will be deciding on the other desserts. But for today, just the hors-d'oeuvres, appetizers, and main courses. Shall we begin?"

"Might as well."

* * *

Kai threw his suit jacket on his bed and sank down next to it, cradling his head in his hands. He was definitely developing feelings for Cinder, though they'd only just met the morning before. How serious those feelings were, he didn't know.

He'd never really been much into dating. If any of the girls who fawned over him ever held legitimate feelings for him, he wasn't sure. He could confirm, though, that at least 99.3% of them didn't. There wasn't exactly a way for him to find a girl who actually cared like he would need her to.

Hikaru had dated before. He had no problems with the girls that only liked him because of his looks or his title. Dating was something for him to do, someone to talk to, even if they didn't care past the publicity and the bragging rights.

They were always given options to date random young, single celebrities from around the world, but Kai found most of them impeccably boring. They either only cared about their work or only cared about themselves.

Basically, Kai had a lot of bad luck with dating and he had no clue how things could work out with Cinder, if anything ever happened between them.

Who was he kidding, anyway? She had no reason to have interest in him. If she ever did, it would be because of his title. She didn't seem like that kind of person, but he learned long ago to never be surprised by anyone.

He heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Come in," he called, sitting up.

Torin pushed the door open and stepped in. "Your Highness, you missed the meeting with Queen Camilla. She isn't pleased."

Kai stood up and retrieved his jacket from the bed, sliding it on. "Hikaru went, right?" Torin nodded once. "Then she shouldn't be angry. I was with the wedding planner, doing Hikaru's dirty work."

"I understand it's hard for the both of you, but you can't keep missing meetings. It looks bad."

"I'm not the one who's going to become Emperor in two weeks."

Torin let out an irritated sigh, "Your Highness-"

"I'll comm her this afternoon to apologize. What excuse did you give her?"

"You were busy."

Kai nodded, "Okay, good. The truth, then." Then, he thought of Cinder. She was the reason he hadn't made it to the meeting, anyway (aside from the fact that he simply forgot, that is). He couldn't stop the small smile that played loudly at the corners of his lips.

Torin entered the room fully and shut the door behind him, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, not at all."

"You met someone." He crossed his arms, "I know you don't want to believe it, Your Highness, but you are terrible at masking your feelings."

"It's complicated," he replied.

Torin quirked an eyebrow, "And how so?"

Kai sighed. Torin had been his father's royal adviser since before Kai and Hikaru were born, and he knew he could trust the man. Besides, it's not like Hikaru was exactly… supportive when it came to matters of the heart. "Her name's Linh Cinder."

"The wedding planner."

"Yeah," Kai reddened and dropped his gaze to the floor. "She's… interesting, I guess. Very intelligent and very pretty. She rambles a lot and talks with her hands." He chuckled, "And she stutters when she's nervous. It's really cute."

Torin gave him a rare smile, "It's not often you express such interest in a girl."

"I don't know what to do."

"You're still young. If you think it'll work, go for it. And don't forget to comm Queen Camilla later. I'll let her know you'll be contacting her." He disappeared into the corridor and Kai gaped at the door that he'd left ajar.

Konn Torin had given him advice, and it had been all about Kai doing something for himself. He was usually a man of honor, of doing things for others only, but he had given Kai advice that-that his father would've given him.

The realization dawned on him and he stepped back, sitting again on the bed.

His father would have wanted him to be happy. He would have wanted him to pursue the bubbling warmth that existed within him whenever he thought of Cinder.

As he decided that he would consider doing just that, a new emotion cooled his heart.

Terror.

* * *

Cinder spun toward her wall of netscreens nervously, her hands trembling. She folded them in her lap.

"Accept comm."

Queen Levana popped up on the biggest netscreen on the wall, a mischievous smile on her face. She was wearing her auburn hair straight and the reddest lipstick Cinder had ever seen. "Good afternoon, Miss Linh. I'm sure you know that I've called to check up on the preparations for my wedding?"

Cinder stood from her chair and bowed, "Of course. They are going well, Your Majesty. Today, we made decisions on the orchestra that will be used as well as their musical numbers, and then on the hors-d'oeuvres, appetizers, and main courses. Would you like me to run them by you?"

The Lunar queen shook her head and her voice was pure honey, "No, I trust you are doing a fine job. Tell me, how is my fiancé looking these days?"

Cinder's stomach churned at the way she spoke of him – like he was no more than a commoner. Cinder forced a smile, "Healthy and happy, Your Majesty. He seems very eager about the wedding."

"Oh, now. Don't lie to me, Miss Linh. I am not so naïve." Cinder's smile faltered ever so slightly. Levana tittered, "Though as long as he is healthy, that's all that matters. I do look forward to being your Queen."

"I also look forward to it," Cinder bowed again, hoping the queen did not catch her second lie. "We are doing a cake tasting tomorrow as well as deciding on the desserts. Do you have any preferences, Your Majesty?"

The Lunar queen tapped her chin thoughtfully, though Cinder assumed she wasn't doing much thinking at all, her perfectly pointed, red-painted fingernail turning Cinder's stomach with how dangerous it looked. "No, I do not believe so. Earthen chocolate is quite divine, though, so do keep that in mind for me and my guests."

Cinder nodded, "Of course, I will write that down so I will not forget."

"Please do." Levana smiled again, "I have other things to attend to now, Miss Linh. I will call again tomorrow evening for updates."

The screen blackened and Cinder fell back into her chair, staring blankly at the wall. Talking to Queen Levana had always drained her, no matter how short the interactions were. She always seemed to be keeping a sinister secret, like she was up to something that would surely ruin a lot of things. Cinder never could pinpoint why she got that feeling.

The port on her desk binged and she spun her chair around, accepting the comm.

"What is it, Iko?" She asked, exhaustion evident in her tone.

"Your next appointment is here, Cinder!"

"Oh, right." Composing herself, Cinder stood up once again. "Send them in."

* * *

Cinder plopped down on the couch as soon as she got back to her apartment, kicking off the heels she'd worn. She never wore heels, but they went well with her slacks. Or so that was her excuse, but her feet were absolutely killing her.

Iko sat on the living chair and commanded the netscreen on the wall to turn on. Then, she turned toward Cinder. "Did you see that suit he wore today? He is positively _gorgeous_!"

"Don't remind me," Cinder grumbled, burying her face in her palms. "I'm so glad that he can't tell that I've been dressing up more, too. I would be completely embarrassed."

Iko stitched her artificial eyebrows together in confusion, "I don't compute."

"I've made a decision. He can't know I like him."

"I don't compute."

Cinder dropped her hands and stared at the android, "For one, I couldn't handle the rejection. The embarrassment from that alone would be enough to shut down my brain immediately. For two, there's no way anything would ever happen between us. He's a prince and I'm a wedding planner, Iko. No one would ever think that I was in it for love. And anyway, he'll probably end up like Prince Hikaru. Roped into an arranged marriage with a distant political figure where there's no love." The very thought made her heart ache, but she buried the emotion in the back of her mind. "Though as long as she's not half as evil as Levana, I think it'll be okay."

Iko cocked her head to the side, "Or he could fall in love with you and you could become a princess!"

"That's it. I'm cutting off your power supply," she threatened.

"Come on, Cinder! You have to admit that that would be really cool!"

Cinder shook her head, "It would be absurd, is what it would be."

Kai would never fall in love with her, especially not if he knew the truth of her status. Emperor Rikan had annulled the Cyborg Protection Act two days after her 16th birthday, but there was still a lot of discrimination against cyborgs. It's why no one knew. It's why she always wore gloves and boots and pants. Dating a prince wasn't a possibility. In fact, she wouldn't be the only person opposed to such a thing. A cyborg and a prince? It would be too offensive. Not worth the risk.

She would, however, enjoy her time with him anyway.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ah, a bit more plot development this time around! This is, clearly, going to go just a bit deeper than Kai and Cinder's relationship. How deep? I suppose you'll have to see. I already know, because chapter 8 is well in the works. Anyway! Yeah, uh, enjoy! And for the record: I love reviews more than I love myself (and that's a lot) (but no pressure or anything) (I can survive without them).


	4. Chapter 04: Plans

**Disclaimer**: I have zero rights to the Lunar Chronicles. I wouldn't be writing this if I did.

* * *

The silver walls of her office gleamed with a false glare from an unseen light source, the white curtains billowing in an artificial breeze. She regarded her royal netscreen with critical eyes. The Earthen wedding planner had sent her what had been finalized so far for her second wedding. The plans were less than acceptable, but she would have to approve of them anyway.

Levana didn't like Linh Cinder at all, and hadn't from the moment she saw her. The girl looked too much like her late sister, Channary, and no one had hated Channary quite like Levana. Grimacing, the Lunar queen sent away the plans and pulled up another, more confidential document.

She read over each bullet point carefully, her red lips screwing up into a sinister smile.

The ornate doors of her office swished open as she read the last line and her head thaumaturge entered. "Your Majesty, I am sorry for this interruption. I trust that you have seen the plans that I had Sir Clay send over?"

"Ah, Sybil. I've just finished going over them. They are brilliant, if I do say so myself."

Sybil forced back a pleased grin. "That is the highest praise, Your Majesty."

"Have you found out any new developments?" Levana rose from her desk and floated to the floor-to-ceiling walls of her office and looked out at Artemisia, the capitol city of Luna spreading before her.

The thaumaturge straightened from her kneel, "The Prince Regent has stopped attending the meetings with the planner. Prince Kai is helping to make the decisions. It's unclear what Prince Hikaru is up to now, though he is still attending meetings with world leaders. He doesn't seem to be planning anything, so I believe that it's safe to say he is not yet a flight risk."

Levana hummed, pursing her lips. "Make sure to keep tabs on him, won't you? He may not be a flight risk now, but I've no doubts he will at least try to become one." She turned from the window, hands folded demurely in front of her, "However, there is always another prince to fall back on. Let's hope he's not so senseless."

"Yes, my Queen." Sybil turned and exited the office once again, the doors closing gently after her.

Levana returned to her desk and pulled the plans and blueprints back up again, pressing a button so they would display on the large netscreen that she triggered to lift from the floor in front of her desk. She leaned over, resting her chin atop her intertwined fingers.

The smile was there again. She hadn't felt so triumphant since she got rid of her dreadful sister and took her rightful place as the Queen of Luna. In two weeks, she would have everything she'd ever wanted. Unlimited power, unlimited resources.

Oh, it warmed her stone cold heart so.

* * *

The royal hover agitated Cinder's nerves. She wrung her hands in her lap and stared at the ground, doing her best not to look at Kai. They were headed directly to the chosen bakery to decide on the cake before going back to her office to figure out the rest of the desserts. Due to misinformation and a mistake at the bakery, they were to do it there rather than in Cinder's office. They were being accompanied by royal guards in a different area of the hover, blocked off from them, and Cinder almost wished that they were sitting with them instead.

"Is it going to be awkward this entire time?" Cinder snapped her head up to look at him as he sat back against the seat.

Cinder wet her lips, her eyes flickering from his for the briefest moment, "I wasn't aware it was awkward."

Kai blinked, "Oh."

She pressed her lips, trying to find a way to disperse some of the tension, "Do you know what I did before I became a wedding planner, Kai?"

"What?"

She dropped her gaze to the carpeted flooring, "I was a licensed mechanic. I worked for my stepmother and she kept all of the profit. I worked all the time and never received anything for it. Not long after I turned 16, I realized it would finally be legal for me to leave when I turned 18, and I did. I packed up my things and I left. It was hard for a while."

He tried to listen, but he was caught on that one word – legal. Of course it would've been legal for her to leave when she reached 18 and was no longer considered a minor. The way she worded it, however, made it seem like that was not an option at one point. A strange feeling in his gut told him that something was off about Cinder. It didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, it was just… different. He couldn't put his finger on it, though.

"And I-I'm good at this. I was great at being a mechanic, but I prefer this so much more. I don't even know why, it just feels… more right. Cleaner. I didn't have to be so dirty anymore. My third official wedding was for two idols from Japan. They loved my independent style and how much they thought I already knew about the things they enjoyed and wanted in their wedding. They were the reason I could afford the fancy office and the netscreen wall and that really cool desk that I still can't get over."

"A mechanic? You were a mechanic, and now you're a wedding planner?" He asked, curiosity heavy in his eyes.

She exhaled a laugh, "I know it sounds ridiculous. They're on completely different ends of the spectrum, right?"

"I'll say."

Cinder shrugged, "I was 17 when I realized that it's what I was going to do once I got away from my stepmother. I was sitting in my booth at the market working on an android when I glanced up at the netscreen across the way. There was some broadcast about a wedding happening in Canada with these two celebrities and I realized that I kind of liked the idea of what it took to make a wedding happen." Kai quirked an eyebrow and leaned over, interested. "I started looking in to it and what it took and I decided that I could really be good at it. And, like I said, it was a far cry from mechanic work. I think that's mostly what drew me to it. My first clients were regulars at my booth. Two years later, here I am."

"Here you are." He smiled, "You really made something of yourself, didn't you?"

"I was just really lucky."

"You deserve it, you know."

She raised an eyebrow, "Thanks for the validation, Your _Highness_."

He chuckled, "Sorry. That came out wrong."

Cinder scrunched her shoulders up, "I know what you meant."

The following silence _was_ awkward, and Cinder thought she might drown in it. Kai was sure he already had.

She set her head back against the head rest, "I used to dream of being important, you know? Of being a lost princess, or something stupid like that, who would revolutionize the world." She turned her gaze to the world outside of the window. "It's silly, I know. But I used to dream that I would save everyone from everything. Levana, Letumosis, everything. When Peony died, I stopped having those dreams. Mostly, it's just nightmares now." The corners of her mouth turned downward, deepened. "I guess I've just always wanted to feel like my life was worth something."

Kai squinted at her, wondering why she was telling him this, why she was so _open_, though not unhappy that she was, "You don't have to be a heroine to be worth something, Cinder."

She cringed at his kind words as the hover began to slow. She shouldn't have said anything to him, she knew. Couldn't figure out why she had in the first place. He didn't care. Not at all. She sighed, forcing her voice up half an octave. "Enough about me. We're here, so I suppose we should get back to work!"

He watched her as she pushed open the door, stepping out into the light of the afternoon sun.

She was hiding something, and Kai couldn't help but be curious about what.

* * *

"Any new developments?" The scrambled voice of the shadow asked.

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck, pacing his office nervously, "No, everything's still ready to go. Right on schedule."

"Are you sure about this, Your Highness?" The shadow asked again.

"It's all I've got right now," the prince regent replied. "You're all set on your side, correct?"

"Affirmative. And of your brother? Is he suspicious?"

The prince dragged his fingers through his hair, "I don't think so."

* * *

Kai's eyes glazed over as he slumped back in the chair, his hands carressing his stomach, "If I eat any more sweets, I think I might throw up."

"Me too," Cinder groaned. "I think we've got everything we want the caterers to bring, though." She tapped her comm button, "Iko, I need you… to come take this food away… before one of us gets sick from looking at it."

The android burst into the room before Cinder even finished her request. She looked between the both of them, "You guys look like hell." She glanced sideways at Kai, "My apologies, Your Highness."

He gave a noncommittal wave of his hand.

Cinder was collapsed over her desk and Kai was whimpering about his stomach in the chair across from her. "It was all just… so good. We couldn't decide what we liked more, so we had third servings of everything. Between that _and _the cake tasting, it's safe to say we didn't make any good choices today."

Iko grabbed the hovering cart full of different dessert trays. "You guys are so lucky," she grumbled, pushing it through the door of Cinder's office. "Please don't get sick. I don't feel like cleaning up after either of you!" She paused and stuck her head back in, "Uh, except maybe after you, Your Highness."

The door shut behind her and Kai laughed painfully. "I think she's a little jealous."

Cinder dragged herself off of her desk, propping up on her forearms, "Androids don't know what jealousy is, but I'm sure I'll be hearing about it later regardless."

"Iko has quite the personality chip."

"Right?" She laughed, though it rocked her stomach a little too much. "I don't have another appointment for an hour, but you should probably head back to the palace. Though, honestly, the thought of moving kind of makes me sick."

"Oh, me too." Kai let out another groan, "I do have to go, though. The guards are waiting for me." Bracing himself on the arms of the chair, he pulled himself to standing.

Cinder did the same, her legs wobbling and stomach queasy. "I cannot believe we ate all of that. How did it happen?"

"We got distracted," he smirked. It was true. They were taste testing the different desserts the catering company had sent over and ended up deep in conversations about, of all things, life on other planets.

Cinder walked with him to the door and he turned to face her. She planted her hands on her hips, "Tomorrow at 08:00, right?"

"Tomorrow at 08:00."

Rather than turning to leave, Kai lingered, the smallest smile quirking the corners of his lips. The silence was deafening.

Then, he leaned forward and kissed her.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Y'know, I didn't really like this chapter! Next chapter is much better, if I recall correctly. We'll see. Fairest is coming out tomorrow! Isn't it so exciting?! I'm excited. I unfortunately have work right after my classes, but I'll be skimping on my homework to read it on Wednesday, don't worry...

Okay anyway. I kind of only just finished writing chapter 8. I told myself I would finish chapter 9 before I posted another on here, but I've been Doing Other Things (homework, playing Sims, rereading TLC for the 4th time...). It's fine. It's all fine. I'll work on my time management skills one of these days. Until then, take this. Tell me if you like it. Tell me if you don't. I can handle it.


	5. Chapter 05: Momentous

**Disclaimer**: TLC does not belong to me. That also includes the television network.

* * *

Cinder's eyes widened as his lips pressed against hers, the sickness in her stomach turning into something warmer and more inviting. She moved to push him away but, upon realizing how right his lips felt, she dropped her arms and melted into it, the warnings in her retina display not annoying enough to make her want to pull away.

She shut her eyes and leaned into him instead.

_Five seconds_, she told herself. _That's all you get._

_Five_. His fingers curled around her elbows. _Four_. Her hands trailed up his arms and his hands fell to her waist. _Three_. She could feel how soft his hair was through her gloves. _Two_. He pulled her against him. _One_. She deepened the kiss. _One_. His hands were so warm and comforting against the small of her back. _One_. She regained her grip on reality and who he was and what she was and dropped her arms, pressing her palms against his chest.

He drew back from her, his hands going to his pockets, his eyes opening slowly. "S-sorry. I've kind of wanted to do that since we met the other day."

"Really," she breathed, still trying to get a grip on her surroundings. She framed it like a question, though there were so many more flying through her head.

"Really."

She ached to kiss him again, her lips still tingling from the sensation, but she refrained.

Though wavering, she found her voice. "You should-you should get going. Back to the palace."

"R-right."

"Tomorrow at 08:00?"

He nodded, reaching for the door handle, "Tomorrow at 08:00."

* * *

Cinder spent the next 45 minutes sitting at her desk, massaging her temples, trying to figure out why he kissed her and what it had meant. And, more importantly, why she kissed him back. Her sore stomach had returned and it was only further irritated by the anxiety brought on by the thoughts.

The prince. Of the Eastern Commonwealth. Kissed _her_. Linh Cinder. Wedding Planner. Cyborg. Lonely teenager with no family and no real friends.

And he _kissed_ her.

She folded her arms on her desk and buried her head in them, trying to figure out why he did it. What did he see in her? They hadn't known each other for very long, anyway. Maybe he was just really forward. Maybe it was desperation. Maybe it was pity. Maybe-

Her port binged from the corner of her desk and she sat up, fixing her pony tail before accepting the call.

"Your next appointment is here, Cinder."

"Thanks, Iko," she replied, smoothing down her shirt.

The door of her office slid open and Iko was accompanying two women in – one who was curvy and pale with long, red curls that fell halfway to her waist, and another who was shorter and petite, with short blonde hair that didn't even brush her shoulders. Cinder could see just how bright her blue eyes were from all the way across the room.

The red head smiled, "Hello, Miss Linh. It's a pleasure. I'm Michelle and this is my fiancée, Bella."

The orange light in her optobionics popped on. They were lying, but about what? Their names? She tried to blink it away, but it remained. She brushed it off.

Cinder bowed to them, "Michelle, Bella, hello. You may call me Cinder, if you wish." She glanced down at her netscreen, "So, you're just here for a consultation and a cost estimate, correct?"

The small blonde, Bella, nodded. "Right."

Michelle took her hand, though it seemed unnatural for them – almost uncomfortable, but maybe they weren't usually good with public displays of affection – and they moved to sit in the chairs across from the desk. Michelle spoke again, "What all do you need to know?"

Cinder popped out her netscreen and began to type, "Well, first things first, we need a date."

"December 23rd," Bella replied.

"Okay, three months from tomorrow. That's a pretty good time frame, though you might be pushing it on the dress. Will you need one dress, two, or are you leaning more towards suits? It's not often I get to plan weddings with two brides and there's always something new."

Michelle grinned, "Two dresses, but we've already found our designer for those."

The orange light persisted. It hadn't turned off once. She blinked rapidly a few more times before opting to ignore it.

Cinder scratched the back of her head, "Good, good. Do you have a proposed budget?"

"15,000 univs," Michelle replied, her grin growing with excitement. "Not including the dresses, of course."

"And how much were you wanting to spend on a venue?"

Bella spoke again in her airy, light voice. "Two thousand."

Cinder tapped the budget into her netscreen, along with the date, and pulled up available venues.

Suddenly, dizziness and nausea set in. She wobbled to her feet, bracing herself against her desk. "Uh, one sec. I need to, um, use the bathroom. I'm sorry, excuse me."

Michelle's face was full of concern, "Oh, no. Do you want me to accompany you?"

Cinder shook her head, "No thank you." Her stomach gurgled and she grimaced, "I'll only be a few minutes, I'm sorry."

Bella's eyes slid over to Michelle's, whose lips were turning up into a slight smirk. Bella nodded her head, "No worries, Miss Cinder. We'll be here."

She thought them a bit strange, especially as her orange light flickered off, but her stomach was willing her to continue to the bathroom rather than ask questions.

When she returned, the two women were perfectly poised in their seats, carrying on casual conversation.

"Sorry about that," she said, sitting back down at her desk and popping in a mint. "My clients before you were choosing their desserts and we just had to try three of everything."

Bella giggled, "Oh, I hope our dessert-deciding isn't so gluttonous!"

Cinder pressed a smile, only slightly offended, "Anyway, back to the venues."

* * *

In the end, the two women decided they were going to go with another planner. That was fine. It happened more than Cinder would have liked, but she kept pretty busy nonetheless. Though the orange light had remained, almost annoying her, she continued to ignore it.

She was just starting to gather her things when a comm alert popped up in her vision. She jumped a bit, having forgotten that she had turned off the link to the port on her desk so that it would connect instead to her retina display.

Inhaling a single, deep breath, she pulled up the message.

_**FROM: CROWN PRINCE KAITO, EASTERN COMMONWEALTH, ID #0082719057  
MESSAGE:**_ Definitely ate about six too many chocolates. Didn't even make it back to the palace before we had to stop.

She smiled to herself at first, but then she remembered the kiss, and she heaved a sigh.

He shouldn't have kissed her. It would have been a lot easier if he hadn't. She especially shouldn't have kissed him back.

"Cinder?" Iko called from the door. "Are we leaving?"

Cinder cleared her throat and tried to strengthen her voice, "Y-yeah. I'm just grabbing the rest of my-my stuff."

Iko peeked into the office, "Are you okay, Cinder?"

"I'll tell you when we get home." Cinder commanded the lights in her office to shut off and she locked the door behind her.

As she climbed into her hover, she got another comm alert.

_**FROM: CROWN PRINCE KAITO, EASTERN COMMONWEALTH, ID #0082719057  
MESSAGE:**_ How are you feeling?

Cinder sent away the message and stared out the window, anxiety swirling inside of her.

Iko leaned over, resting her elbows on her knees, her chin sitting atop her joined fists. "Can you tell me now?"

Cinder shut her eyes, "This is too small of a space."

"Huh?"

"You'll scream."

Iko tilted her head, "…Huh?"

Cinder opened her eyes and narrowed them at the android, her lips pressed into a line. It was enough warning for her to turn down her audio interface. "He kissed me. K-Kai, he kissed me."

Even as low as it can go, Cinder's ears were still sore by the time Iko finished screaming.

"What happened?!" She demanded.

Cinder shrugged, "I was just… walking him out. He looked at me and he just… it just happened."

Iko beamed, "Did you kiss him back?"

She replied by burying her eyes into a glove. "Yeah. And it was… it was nice. And I enjoyed it and I kind of want to do it again." Iko let out a small squeak. "It's complicated."

"I thought he couldn't know you liked him?"

"He can't," she groaned. "I don't know if he does."

* * *

He threw his jacket over the chair. "Have you seen Hikaru?"

Nainsi's blue sensor light washed over the prince, "Crown Prince Regent Hikaru is in his office."

"Thanks," Kai muttered, rushing out of his quarters and making a direct line for his brother's office.

As he neared, he realized that that area of the palace was deserted, which was rare. He stitched his eyebrows together and came to a slow. There were muffled voices coming from inside, including his brother's.

He put his ear next to the door and listened.

"–let were successful in planting the cameras and mics about an hour and a half ago."

"Do you think she's working for Levana?" It was Hikaru's voice.

The reply was muffled, and the audio was evidently scrambled so they couldn't be identified. "At the moment, she seems clear. But we cannot be certain just yet."

Kai lifted his fist and knocked on the door.

"Uh, just a sec!" Hikaru called back, and Kai heard him shuffling around his office before pulling the door open. The netscreens around his desk were all black. "Oh, hey Kai! What's up?"

Kai crossed his arms, "Who were you talking to?"

Hikaru pulled his eyebrows together, "What? Uh, no one. Myself, probably. Did you need something?"

Kai studied his brother for a moment and, deciding that he was probably just overthinking what he'd heard, sighed. "I need to talk to you about something. About Cinder."

"Oh." Hikaru perked up and stepped back to let Kai in. "What about her?"

Kai walked in and turned to face his brother. "I-I do think she's cute."

His brother laughed, "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"I kissed her."

Hikaru's amused air disappeared, "You did _what_?"

"I…I kissed her."

Realizing he was still holding the door, Hikaru slammed it shut. "Why would you do a stupid thing like that?" He shook his head, "Wait. Did she kiss you back? Are you two a thing now?"

"She did kiss me back but, no, we're not 'a thing'. We didn't really talk about it and she's not responding to my comms. I don't know why I did it, either. It was kind of… in the moment. We had a moment, Hikaru. Just like all those stupid films we always make fun of." Kai bunched the silk cloth of his shirt in his hands, his eyes downcast. "I think I really like her. I only did it because Torin told me to go after it if I 'think it could work' or whatever."

"Torin?"

"Torin."

"Like, our Torin? Konn Torin? Royal Adviser to the Emperor Torin? Are you sure?"

Kai rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know. He did, though. He gave me advice our father would have given me."

Hikaru paled and turned away, "So, you took his advice and went for the pretty wedding planner. What next? Ruin her life with the press and death threats from your fan girls?"

"I...I don't know." He moved to sink down against the wall, his forearms propped on his knees. "What if I go in tomorrow and she pretends like nothing happened?"

"She probably will." Hikaru picked at one of his fingernails. "She's not necessarily a nobody, but she's not exactly celebrity status, either. Then you, a _prince_, show up and flirt with her and then you kiss her? She's probably terrified."

Kai shut his eyes, "Probably. Stars, what was I thinking?"

"You had a _moment_," Hikaru mocked. "I can't believe this. You didn't even think it through. What if she's working for Levana?"

Kai shot a glare at his brother, "So that's what you were talking about earlier, then? You think Cinder's working for _Levana_? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. I wonder the same thing, but we don't know what Levana's up to, and we don't know what means she'll use to get what she wants."

"Like marrying you?"

Hikaru turned a sickly shade of green, like the thought made him physically ill, "I suppose that should be enough, right?"

Kai pushed himself from the ground, "What are you doing, Hikaru? Sneaking around, talking to strange people, evacuating this corner of the palace so you can have privacy? What's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing's going on, Kai. I'm just trying to deal with all of this, okay? It's not your life that's about to be ruined. You can go and have your cute little relationship with your cute little wedding planner while I'm busy being forced into something I will never want. Please, be happy. At least one of us still has the chance."

Kai watched as Hikaru stormed out. He reached out his hand, intending to stop him, but instead let it fall back to his side. He shouldn't have pushed the issue. He didn't mean anything by it.

His portscreen binged from his belt. He unhooked it, excitement playing with his nerves, and opened the comm he received.

The excitement drained immediately when he realized it wasn't from Cinder. He had a meeting in ten minutes.

Fixing his hair with one hand, Kai used the other to type out a quick message to Cinder and hoped that, this time, she'd reply.

* * *

Another comm alert popped up in Cinder's vision when she stepped into the shower and she honestly thought she might scream. Why couldn't he just get the hint and leave her alone? She opened it up anyway.

_**FROM: CROWN PRINCE KAITO, EASTERN COMMONWEALTH, ID #0082719057  
MESSAGE: **_I'm sorry if I screwed things up earlier. I hope you don't hate me. Perhaps we can talk things over after our meeting tomorrow?

Cinder felt guilt rising in her stomach. So much for a peaceful shower. She typed out a quick reply and held little hope that it would end there.

"I don't hate you."

She almost wished she did, though. That way she wouldn't want to kiss him again. And again.

And again.

She rested her back unsteadily against the wall, the water stream showering her entire left side. She would have to get the wedding over with. After that, she would have to get over him.

He couldn't love her. He just didn't quite know it yet.

* * *

**Author's Note**: BONUS CHAPTER FOR THIS WEEK. It's to celebrate that I'm meeting Marissa Meyer tomorrow (the 31st)! If you're going to be at the Fairest event in Cincinnati, I'll be there dressed as Scarlet! It's going to be great fun, I'm so excited! I've been waiting for this day for, like, over a month and a half.

I really enjoyed Fairest, and I enjoyed the Winter excerpts even more! I won't say any more for those of you who haven't read it yet.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and I cannot make any promises on when the next update will be.


	6. Chapter 06: Progression

**Disclaimer**: It's nothing less than a blessing that I **do not **own The Lunar Chronicles.

* * *

Kai entered her office with a quite obvious air of uncertainty. From his uncharacteristically shy smile to the way he hardly picked his eyes up from the ground, he was apparently very nervous about something.

Cinder bowed her head to him, "You're just in time. Trinity will be here in a few minutes."

He finally looked up at her, confusion etched into his features, "Trinity?"

"Fashion designer from Cuba. One of the best in the world. She'll be designing and creating Hikaru's suit for the wedding." The netscreen popped out from Cinder's desk and she began to type on it. "She's not happy that he won't be here, but you two are relatively the same height and build, right?"

Kai's eyes went to the floor once again as he sat down, "Yeah."

"Wonderful," Cinder replied. She was making it look so easy to pretend like yesterday hadn't happened at all. Kai wished he could do the same. "And if you'd like, she's bringing extra material to make a suit for you."

"That's fine."

"Great. She'll be here any minute."

There was a stillness in the room. "Cinder, I-"

"Don't," she interrupted. "You said you wanted to talk about it after the meeting. We'll talk about it after the meeting."

He flushed, but said nothing more.

Kai counted twenty-three of his heartbeats where awkward silence filled the room and seemed to suck all of the oxygen out of it, but then the port on Cinder's desk binged and it was Iko, stating that Trinity had arrived.

The door slid open and a woman Kai didn't know was having an animated conversation with the android Iko as they walked in. Her dark brown hair was in tight curls and cut to her shoulders, framing her face perfectly, highlighting the caramel color of her skin.

Cinder shot up from her desk and rushed over. She didn't hug much, but she always hugged Trinity.

"Oh, my darling!" Trinity beamed, breaking the hug and holding the girl at arm's length and looking over her, "It's been far too long. You've grown your hair out!"

The woman was likely in her 40s, Kai decided, and he stood up to greet her. "Good morning."

Trinity backed away from Cinder and glanced over at him, "Your Highness." She approached him and fell into a natural bow, "It's a pleasure. I'm Trinity and I'll be designing His Majesty's suit for his wedding."

"The pleasure is all mine. Cinder says you're one of the best."

She smiled as she swept her gaze over him, "Cinder has always spoken too highly of me."

"That's not true," said Cinder, motioning to Iko to return to her post. "You are the best designer."

Trinity rolled her eyes playfully, "Let's get started then, hm?"

* * *

Kai twisted in the suit, "It's a bit big."

Trinity nodded, "I'm working on that, I know."

"It looks awful," he grumbled.

It actually looked _good_. Cinder couldn't help but stare. It was a bit baggy, but it still formed around his body in the best way, and just when she was certain that he couldn't possibly be any more handsome. At least he wasn't the one getting married.

Kai must have caught her staring, because he chuckled and winked at her through the mirror. Trinity caught the action and then turned her head curiously to Cinder, who shrank away, her arms crossed and head down.

Trinity gave a small grunt, though Cinder couldn't decide if it was from approval or not, and returned to her work.

After twenty minutes, she took a step back. "All done. How's it feel?"

Kai twisted in it again and then did a complete 360. Cinder's heart probably stopped at some point. "It's great. It'll fit him perfectly."

Trinity dipped her head, "Wonderful. Would you like to do yours now?"

Kai turned around to face Cinder, "Think you can handle it?"

"W-what?" She asked, eyes focusing, suddenly anxious.

Kai listed his head toward Trinity, "I think she's enjoying the view, don't you?"

"Indeed." Trinity snickered.

_Traitor_, Cinder thought. "I'm just worried we'll go over our time. But I trust Trinity, so I'm sure we can fit it in."

"Of course we can," Kai said, stepping off of the platform and heading to the changing room.

Trinity handed him what he was to change into and as he shut the door, she walked over to Cinder, whispering, "So, what's the deal with you two?"

Cinder looked at her with horror written all over her face, "What deal? There's no deal. I'm just the wedding planner."

"You seem to have some interest in him."

"He's the _prince_, Trinity."

"He's handsome! I wouldn't blame you. I think he likes you, too."

Cinder folded her arms over her chest, "Why do you say that?"

She leaned further in to say it directly into Cinder's ear. "He wouldn't stop staring at you. He was blushing the entire time."

"You're making that up."

"I'm serious, Cinder. This boy has a crush on you." Trinity shoved her shoulder lightly, "You should, you know, go for it."

Her eyes widened, her voice a harsh whisper. "Go for what?! There's nothing to g-"

Kai swung the door open, effectively cutting her off. He glanced between the two women with a confused look on his face before speaking.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"O-of course not," Cinder said, stepping away from Trinity and linking her hands behind her back.

Trinity grinned as she made her way back to Kai, "Not at all, dear. Just giving Cinder some motherly advice."

* * *

"You haven't been answering my comms," said Kai. Trinity had been gone for a whole thirty-five seconds.

Cinder pulled her office chair out and sank down into it, "I replied to one."

"One," he repeated. "I sent you four."

She shrugged lazily with one shoulder, "Kind of excessive, don't you think?"

"Why are you playing hard to get?"

Cinder chewed on her lip and moved her gaze to the wall behind him.

"I know you've got your concerns, but you don't have to be worried."

"I'm not worried about anything."

"Then why won't you reply to my comms?"

She jumped up from her chair, frustration coursing through her veins and wires, sending it propelling backwards on its wheels, and rounded the side of her desk. She reached for the built-in port and plucked it from its resting place, and began to jab at it. "Fine. You want me to comm you back, I'll comm you back."

She pressed the send button. Cinder turned to put it back on her desk, hearing his port binging in the background, when it tumbled from her hand and fell to the floor.

Cinder groaned, embarrassed, and leaned over to grab it.

He caught something silver under her glove gleam under the light above them as she bent to pick up the port. His mind went through a million things before he stop to rationalize.

It was metal. And it wouldn't make sense for it to be a piece of jewelry hidden beneath her glove.

It was metal. It was her hand.

And she was a cyborg. There was no other explanation.

The realization hit him like a wave. The conversation in the hover the other day, how she mentioned the legality of her leaving at 18. She found out when she was sixteen – three years ago, when the Cyborg Protection Act was annulled.

Cinder examined the port and sighed, setting it back on her desk, "I suppose I'll be replacing the vid cable on that. As I was say-," she was cut off when she caught his expression. Shock. "What?"

"Your, uh, your glove… rode up when you bent down to get your port…." His voice trailed and his ears reddened and Cinder knew exactly what he meant.

"You weren't supposed to see that," she said flatly, her entire demeanor changing. Defensive.

Kai blinked, "You're a-"

"Congratulations," said Cinder, as strongly and as clearly as she could manage, trying to keep her voice from wavering. "You've just discovered some very privileged information about me."

Kai blinked rapidly a few more times. "You-this whole time-"

"Yes. This whole time and since before I can remember." She took a measured breath. "Now, if you'd prefer, I can refer you to some other planners in the area. Or the palace can choose another on their own. Just let me know so I can send them what we've finalized so far."

He stood, his eyes still wild with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Cinder sighed and moved to send the netscreen back into her desktop. "I trust you no longer want to work with me on this." She was surprisingly calm, though she was certain it was because she was numb to the shock. Of course he would find out today, and that she wouldn't be able to tell him herself. Of course. "It's not the first time it's happened, don't worry. I understand. I will need you to sign a confidentiality agreement before you leave."

"A confide- Cinder. I'm not firing you."

"You're not?"

He shook his head, "No. I'm sure Hikaru would, but I'm not going to."

She laughed, and it sounded as if she were smothering disappointment. "Your brother hates cyborgs, doesn't he? Great."

"He's not perfect."

"So you also know why you and I can't be together now, right? Why I won't talk about the-the kiss?"

He settled back onto the chair, his hand going to scratch his ear. He studied her for a moment. From her perpetually messy, fine hair to the gloves that hid her secrets, to the boots she was standing so uncomfortably in. He wondered if it was just her hand, or if there was more. He was afraid to ask. She'd no doubt take it the wrong way. His eyes drew lines over her form, the way she held herself, how she always kept her chin up. Her face was so perfectly symmetrical, and her lips – he recalled how soft and warm they had been. How right they felt.

"Do you?" Her sharp tone cut through his thoughts.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean I agree."

He watched Cinder bristle, leaning toward the side of her mahogany desk, how her chest heaved behind her crossed arms as she tried to catch her breath.

She walked in front of her desk and perched against the edge of it, directly in front of him. Almost within reach. "But you don't understand. Not like you think you do. Not like you need to."

"What are you so afraid of?" He asked, his voice hushed.

Her crossed arms tightened around her, as if she were protecting herself. "Everything, Kai. Everything."

He squared his shoulders, "Do you have feelings for me or not? All I need is the answer to that and we'll figure out where to go from here."

Cinder clenched her jaw.

"If you say no, it's fine. I just need to know."

Her gaze met his, piercing but fearful. "I-I think so."

Kai's shoulders relaxed and he smiled, "So, you like me. I like you. What's the most logical way for us to proceed with this?"

"We can't," she said, her voice as small as ever.

He jumped to his feet. She was so close to him, he could reach out and take her in his arms. "What can I do, Cinder? What can I do to make you want this like I do?"

Her lip trembled and her eyes shifted between his, "Tell me-tell me this is worth it. T-tell me it's not stupid and that this can-that this could work."

He reached up and took her face in his hands, "It can work, Cinder."

She dropped her arms, trembling all over.

"How?" She was sure she'd be crying if it were possible, by the tell-tale sign that she was developing a headache. Then again, she wasn't sure why she would cry at all. "Once word gets out – and it will – my life will be a mess."

Kai chuckled, though he knew he should tread lightly. "It's not like I'm your client."

"Right. You're just the prince. Not a big deal at all." She tried not to recoil from his touch, "If nothing else, what if it just doesn't work out?"

"What if it does?"

Cinder narrowed her eyes, "I didn't build my life around blind optimism, Kai."

He let his hands fall back to his sides, "Fine."

He looked crushed, and the sight clamped a cold fist around Cinder's heart. Stars, she wanted to comfort him. Tell him they could do it.

But she didn't have herself convinced quiet yet. "We don't even really know each other, Kai. I mean, honestly. What do you know about me past what you've learned today and the last couple of days? What do I know about you past what I've seen in the news?"

His expression lightened considerably, "Okay. So, let's start getting to know each other better."

"Not today," said Cinder as she moved to gather her things. "I promised Iko that after our appointment, we could go shopping."

He bit his cheek, "Then, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Sunday. If you think I'm leaving my apartment on my only day off, you're sorely mistaken."

Kai laughed, "Fine. Okay. Day after tomorrow?"

Cinder nodded, "Day after tomorrow."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Yay! Another chapter! I only just finished writing chapter 9... ugh. I recently discovered that I am _very _behind on homework in my French classes, so I've been spending a lot of time doing that! Also, writer's block. And I'm writing something else at the moment... I happen to like it a lot more than this, so I've been putting a lot of energy into that. Um, yeah. Meeting Marissa was super cool! She's so lovely/adorable. So, yeah, review if you want. Or don't. I don't mind.


	7. Chapter 07: Escapism

**Disclaimer**: I have zero rights to the Lunar Chronicles or its characters. I cry about it sometimes.

* * *

She dragged her eyes open as soon as the clock in her vision struck 10:00. Cinder grinned to herself. Sundays were her favorite; she got to sleep in past 06:30. Yawning the sleep away, she threw her legs over the side of her bed and pushed herself to her feet, walking to the small bathroom connected to her room, starting her morning routine before she had to boot Iko for the day.

She'd just finished brushing her teeth when she heard a knock on the door. Not expecting visitors, she made sure her yoga pants were all the way to the floor and threw on a sweatshirt over her black tanktop and slid into a pair of slippers. The knocking became more impatient as she stuffed her left hand into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

"I'm coming!" She called, irritated.

Cinder opened the door and the warm, caramel-brown eyes that met hers caused her to stumble two steps back, "What are you doing here? How did you find out where I live?"

"I'm the _prince_."

"Don't remind me."

He smirked, "I was hoping you'd be awake." He held up a basket that she hadn't noticed before, "I brought lunch."

Cinder stared at him in disbelief. "Okay, but really. What are you doing here?"

Kai looked around. She was sure he was sweltering. It was hot and humid outside, according to her retina display, and he was wearing the ugliest, baggiest sweatshirt she'd ever seen. His hair fell unkempt across his brow and she buried the part of her that was aching to reach out and sweep it back.

"Well, I didn't feel like waiting until tomorrow to see you again. I thought that, instead, we could get to know each other a little better today."

Cinder softened, took a fistful of his sweatshirt in her hand, yanked him through the doorway. "What if someone would have seen you?"

He shrugged, "I assume they would've been right behind me, don't you think?"

She grunted, "Do you want to borrow one of my sweatshirts? You look uncomfortable."

"I actually brought an extra shirt with me." He pulled it from top of the basket, "Where's the bathroom?"

She lifted an uneasy arm, "End of the hallway, to the right."

He left to change and when he walked out, she was pulling her own sweatshirt over her head. "U-uh, sorry."

Cinder tossed it onto the couch, "Oh, calm down. It just got a little hot." Then, she got a good look at him. The shirt was plain and black and no doubt a lounge shirt. Her heart sputtered a bit when she realized that he could make anything look good.

"Where's Iko?"

She regained control of her thoughts, "I haven't had the chance to boot her up yet. Would you like me to? I'm sure she's got plenty of embarrassing stories about me."

"Nah, I'd rather hear all of those embarrassing stories from you. Besides, I think it's best if she doesn't have to be stuck being the third wheel." He winked and Cinder thought she might melt all over her carpet. Did he consider this a… date?

She laughed away the butterflies in her stomach, "Well, when I'm dead tomorrow because she finds out I didn't wake her for this, it's all on you."

Kai shrugged, his appreciative gaze sweeping over her. "I think I'll take that risk."

Picking up the basket he'd brought, Cinder moved to sit on the couch. He sat at the other end and faced her. "What did you bring?"

"Just some sandwiches and fruit from the kitchens. Nothing fancy."

She failed at concealing her smile, "Well, thanks, I suppose. Do you wanna catch a movie or something?"

Kai listed his head toward the netscreen hanging on the wall opposite them. "Netscreen, on. Feed seven." He glanced back at her, "My favorite movie is playing today, thanks for asking."

"Good to know."

They both ate rather quickly and silently. The movie was pretty lame, in Cinder's opinion, but she pretended to like it, considering Kai continually looked over to assess her reactions. (Or so she thought. He was actually doing it because he simply wanted to.)

When they'd finished almost all of the food he brought, Cinder pushed the basket aside and moved to the center cushion. Closer to Kai, but not touching him. He inched closer as well, and Cinder could see is ears turning pink. He threw his arm casually around the back of the couch.

"So do you always watch movies set in the second era, or are you fonder of futuristic movies?"

He hummed thoughtfully, "I'm not really picky. I love love stories, though."

Stars, what a dork. "Yeah. You seem like the type."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, dropping his arm from the back of the couch to around her shoulders with perfect fluidity.

Her playful smile disappeared and she froze. "D-don't."

Kai retracted his arm, "Oh, sorry. Too fast?"

"I'm just… not used to human contact, is all." She began to crawl her fingers across the distance between them, hooking her pinky into the palm of his left hand as though she were testing the waters. "Though h-holding hands is-is fine."

He completed the action, intertwining their fingers. "Holding hands is perfect."

Cinder warmed at his touch and his words and released a small, satisfied sigh. She was getting somewhere. That was good. Still, she couldn't get past that he was the prince and she, a mere wedding planner. Hardly a woman. It was the umpteenth time she'd reminded herself that morning alone.

"Cinder, can I ask you a relatively invasive question?"

She slid her eyes and her full attention to him, "Shoot."

He cleared his throat, "Uh, is your hand the only cyborg part of you?"

Cinder folded her lips for a moment, trying to concoct a good answer. She could have just said no and showed him the rest. Or she could choose to tell him everything. Might as well do it now, while he was here. She lifted her head to look at him fully, "I was in a really bad hover accident when I was ten. I lived with my parents somewhere in Europe at the time. I came to the EC when I was 11. When I was 13, I was overwhelmingly curious about my history and my parents. I started doing searches on one particularly lonely night and I found news articles and photos and, stars, I can't believe they put some of them online. My parents were killed on impact." Her voice hitched. She had no memories of them. "I was thrown from the hover and pinned under it." She sucked in a relaxing breath, "I lost my left leg, my left hand, and my eyes were badly damaged from debris."

He gaped at her. In amazement. In shock. "Your leg and your eyes, too?"

She nodded and almost thought he was disgusted. When she tried to pull her hand back, he held tighter.

"So, your leg is cyborg and your eyes are…?"

"Synthetic," she said when she realized he wouldn't, "I have something of a netscreen in the bottom of my left iris."

He leaned forward and stared at her eye. "Really?" She pulled up a net feed and hoped it was bright enough for him to see. He blinked. "It's so small."

"It's much bigger to me. I even have net connectivity. In my brain. It's why I'm so good at my job, why it seems like I know so much. I just conduct searches while clients talk. Weird, isn't it?"

He said nothing in reply to her rambling. She watched his eyes focus and she realized he was looking at her this time, his gaze softening. Her lungs hitched and her eyes instinctively fell to his lips, which were parted.

She could feel herself start to tremble as he inclined his head, and his lips were warmer and softer than she remembered. This time, they were even coaxing. Her heart palpitating, she sent away the warnings in her retina display and reluctantly released his hand and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her human fingers losing themselves in his hair.

It was strange, to be there and know they wouldn't have any interruptions this time.

It lasted ten seconds – not like she was counting, or anything.

He pulled away, though his lips hovered dangerously close to hers, "We can't get to know each other better if we spend the whole day kissing."

"You started it," she muttered, breaking away from him. She dropped her arms and took his hand in hers again, and they went back to watching the net.

She moved to rest her head on his shoulder. If she could manage for one day to forget that he was the prince, it would make everything much easier. He wasn't a prince. He wasn't in line for any sort of vital world-leadership position.

He was just Kai.

That's all she needed him to be.

Hands clasped together and her head resting comfortably against his shoulder, they asked each other questions back and forth for a good hour and a half.

Kai was in the middle of a particularly long story when Cinder dozed off to the smooth sound of his voice and the scent of soap that clung loosely to his shirt.

"Cinder," he whispered, checking to see if she was asleep. She made no indication that she was awake and Kai couldn't help but smile. She looked so peaceful, so content – judging from the small smile on her face.

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and slowly moved to check his port. He'd had it on silent mode so as not to disturb them, and he unlocked it to discover five very angry, very recent messages from Hikaru.

Grumbling, he read them.

_Where are you?_

_Kai, where'd you go?_

_Why aren't you answering me?_

_What's wrong?_

_You're an asshole! Where are you?_

Rolling his eyes, he tapped out a reply.

_I took a personal day. I'm fine. Leave me alone_.

He didn't bother asking what his brother wanted, he didn't really care at the moment. Cinder half-nuzzled his shoulder, and he stiffened and hoped he hadn't woken her, but she made no other movements to suggest she'd woken up.

Kai smiled and gently rested his head atop hers, watching the net feed and finding it incredibly boring, but he didn't want to risk waking her by changing it. He didn't realize he'd dozed off, too.

Cinder managed to pull her eyes open not an hour later, the clock in her retina display telling her it was only 13:04. She couldn't move, though, she noticed, because his head was resting on top of hers and there were little, tiny snores coming from him and it was the most adorable thing ever.

She giggled quietly to herself and trained her eyes on their intertwined fingers. There was a pestering at the back of her mind, a prickling reminder of their different statuses, but she pushed it back, kept it at bay.

Her doubts would not ruin, well, whatever this was.

Maybe she would ask Kai what he thought of it when he woke up, but she didn't want to wake him now. Stars knew he probably never got to sleep very often.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait too long. He woke with a start and looked around, shaking away the groggy fog in his head.

He looked over and caught Cinder staring at him, grinning. "You're up."

He ran his free hand through his hair, "How long was I out?"

She shrugged.

"What time is it? I didn't waste the whole day, did I?"

"It's just after 13:00," she replied, squeezing his hand. "Do you want something to drink?"

He looked away, "Uh, water would be nice."

Cinder rose to her feet and her hand fell from his as she made her way towards the kitchen. As she reached for two glasses, she turned her head towards him, "Kai, can I ask you a question?"

"I believe you already did," he replied with a pleased smirk. When she scoffed, he chuckled, "Yes, you may."

She held the glasses awkwardly in her hands, staring down at them, her stomach churning. "What… what is this? What we're doing? You being here, what… what does it mean?"

Kai shifted, blushed. "Oh, well, I didn't want to scare you off by calling it a date, but…."

Cinder's hands shook as she filled the glasses with water from the fridge door, "Oh, s-so you do think it's a date."

"It doesn't have to be."

She returned to the couch and handed him the glass, taking her spot next to him again. She regarded the netscreen, "Feed 12." Then, she glanced over at Kai, "I want it to be. I just had to make sure."

He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her over and over again, but he swallowed the idea with a gulp of water and then leaned over to kiss her forehead, "It's definitely a date. Hopefully the first of many."

Cinder thought her heart might catch fire.

_Hopefully_.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So, I didn't want to post this just yet, since I've only just started working no chapter 10, but it's Valentine's Day and we all need some Kaider fluff in our lives. (This was meant to be a mostly-filler chapter. I swear I did not plan for this.) I promise you will start meeting the other characters soon! At the moment, I am completely swamped with homework! I'm not even behind, it's just I get it all done one day and I go to class the next day and bam, another entire night spent doing homework. On top of the fact that I have a job and absolutely no attention span. Yikes.

Anyway! I hope you liked it! If not, I'm sorry. I still totally appreciate you reading it.


	8. Chapter 08: Confidentiality

**Disclaimer**: Do I even need to do these anymore? I'm running out of clever ways of saying, "I don't own TLC and I'm not making any money from this and I'm a sad, broke college student about it."

* * *

Ze'ev Kesley paced the small alcove of the hideaway, hands clasped behind his back, fears and doubts encircling the plans that were running through his mind. They had a week and a half before their plans would come to fruition. A week and a half to save the Eastern Commonwealth, and by extension the world, from Queen Levana.

Ze'ev wasn't an anxious man, but he was feeling particularly nervous. If they failed, well–

"Z?" Scarlet stuck her head in, her red curls falling into her face. They were caught by the light of the holographic candles strung along the walls, making it look as though her head was on fire. "I spoke with my grand-mère. I'm leaving in an hour to head to Rieux to pick up the supplies."

He stopped pacing and glanced at her. "Does it have to be you?"

She entered the alcove and moved to rest against the rocky wall. "We've gone over this, Z. I want to see my grand-mère one last time and Thorne is a god-awful pilot."

"I know." He traversed the length of the alcove to stop directly in front of her, bracing a palm against the wall above her right shoulder. Scarlet could see his nervous energy, how his fingers _tap, tap, tapped _against the rock behind her. "I just hate that you have to go alone."

She pressed a hand gently against his cheek. "I'm well versed in how to use a gun and I'll only be gone two days." She pushed herself onto her toes to give him a quick peck on the corner of his mouth. "I'll be fine, Ze'ev. I always am."

They'd been stuck in that cave in the Commonwealth for a month and a half, ever since they first contacted Hikaru about Levana's intentions. The prince regent had been terrified, but not surprised. The information had come directly from Cress, a refugee from Luna who'd escaped with her father when she was only a child.

How she'd gotten the information was unclear – they considered that it may have been purely speculation, but Scarlet herself was convinced that it was the girl's excellent hacking skills that gave her the evidence. It didn't matter, really. All they knew was that Prince Hikaru was in serious danger if he married Levana, and they had to do something about it.

They had to kidnap him, and they had to make it seem like he wasn't involved – going so far as to keep his own brother in the dark about it.

Ze'ev wasn't sure which would be harder.

* * *

She stared down at her netscreen, trying to hide her disappointment. "Looks like today is probably the last day you'll actually have to be here. We just need to finalize the wait staff and the seating chart." She glanced up at him. "Hopefully this won't take too long."

Kai scowled. "I hope it does."

Cinder chuckled. "I suppose we'll have to have more repeats of yesterday, then, won't we?"

"I certainly planned on it. I'll miss being able to see you every day, though."

"That's kind of the point, you know." She was facing her netscreen again, but she could see him through her eyelashes. "When you're dating someone, you're not supposed to see them every day. Keeps it from getting boring or annoying." She assumed so, at least.

He cocked his head to the side as he spoke. "I don't see you ever being boring or annoying."

"Then I suppose it's me we have to worry about." She sat up, folding her hands on her desk, a half-smirk on her lips. "We won't be able to see each other all the time. That's just how it is, regardless of who you are." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers fluttering across the screen that was popped out of her desktop. "But we really should get these last few things cleared up."

He settled back into the chair, considering her. "You should come to the palace later."

"Oh, sure. I'll get right on that."

"I'm serious."

She sighed.

"You can even bring Iko. If anyone asks, you're there on business."

Cinder rolled away from her desk again, leaning back in the chair and folding her hands over her stomach. "If I say yes, can we actually get down to business? I have other clients to see today."

Kai shrugged. "I don't know. Try me."

"Fine. I'll come."

He smiled. "Great. What time do you get off?"

She sat back up in her chair. "Looking over the seating chart, I can see the only obstacle being figuring out who you like the least, and then we'll sit them near the Lunar court."

"President Vargus isn't our favorite person," said Kai. "But I don't know if we dislike him enough for that. Want me to comm Hikaru?"

"No, I think I'll just set them at a corner table. Enough to feel included but not enough for them to be suspicious about it. I was thinking that Prime Minister Bromstad and his family could handle sitting near them, yeah?"

Kai laughed aloud. "So you believe the rumors that he slept with that woman from the Lunar court?"

Cinder gave a mild shrug. "I don't feed into rumors, Kai. You know that."

"Forgive me if I'm hard to convince."

Cinder dragged a few more names to different chairs in the seating chart before sending it away. "Now, for the wait staff, Levana requested human servants only. Is this acceptable?"

"Do we have any other choice?"

She tapped out the request for staff on her netscreen. "No. No we don't." She pressed send and then glanced up at him. "Well, looks like that's all I need from you, Kai. Anything else can be hashed out via comm. Further meetings would be a waste of time, and I do hate to waste your time."

"You've never done such a thing, Cinder." He stood up and slinked over to her desk, placing his palms flat atop it and leaning over so their noses were almost touching. "What time will you be over?"

She straightened her shoulders,."My last appointment ends at 15:00."

"Come over for dinner," he said quietly, his lips moving millimeter-by-millimeter closer to hers. "Let me show you around. The palace gardens are beautiful this time of year."

"I'm sure they are."

"I'll send a hover around 17:00?"

She grinned. "Sounds good to me," she said, and then closed the distance between them.

He lifted a hand and ran his fingers along her collarbone, causing her to shiver, and then around the back of her neck, pulling her as close as he could.

Cinder wondered if it was too soon to call it perfect.

* * *

He pressed his shoulder into the rocky wall, his signature smirk on his face. "I do love when you do your hacking thing."

The small girl tilted back in her chair, viewing him upside down. He caught the brightness of her blue eyes from across the dimly-lit space in the alcove. "How long have you been standing there?"

She straightened as he walked over to her. "Just since you started singing."

A blush filled in the pale skin beneath the freckles that speckled her cheeks. "O-oh. I never notice when I do that."

"It's nice, Cress. You have a gorgeous singing voice."

She tugged her fingers through her short hair. "Th-thanks, Thorne."

"Have you found anything?" He asked, pulling up a chair next to her. "Ze'ev's all nervous and pacing since Scarlet left, and I think the guy might bust a vein if we don't find something on this Cinder girl."

Cress swiveled her gaze between him and her netscreen, a frown touching the corner of her lips. "She's just a normal girl with a sad history. I don't think she's working for Levana. She doesn't have a reason to. And, Thorne. I think we have a problem."

"What is it?"

She looked at him again, her eyes clashing with his. Her eyes always reminded him of the sky on a clear day. Striking and bright. "I think… judging by the audio recordings we've been picking up from Cinder Linh's office… I think she and Prince Kai are dating."

"Aces and spades!" Thorne said, his tone full of amusement. "Do you know if his brother knows?"

"No. And they have a really good reason to keep it from him." She turned back to her netscreen and tapped a few buttons, pulling up a full body shot of Cinder as a child, post-surgery. Hospital records. Confidential. "The prince regent isn't particularly fond of cyborgs."

Thorne's eyes widened at the pictures on the screen. "No way. She's a cyborg? This is too good."

Cress sent the pictures away and folded her leg under her as she twisted toward him again. "Prince Kai does know. He found out by accident, but it seems it wasn't a big deal for him."

* * *

Thorne went quiet at her words, examining Cress like she was another bullet point on the list of things they hadn't yet worked out. "How are you, Cress?"

She knew what he meant. He'd said it so full of pity, it almost made her feel sick. "I'm fine, Thorne."

"Your dad's death was really hard on you. You can talk about it."

"I don't _want _to talk about it." She moved to shut the netscreen off. "Because of course he would die two days before the antidote was confirmed. It doesn't matter. It… it doesn't matter at all. We're going to finish what he started. We're going to overthrow Levana. It doesn't matter that-that he… he's gone." She swallowed her sob and pushed away from the small desk that had been "gifted" to Thorne by a wood shop at the New Beijing marketplace.

Cress walked to the small, man-made archway that looked out into the bigger part of the natural underground tunnel, tears stinging her eyes. She was always so quick to cry, and she _hated _it. It made her feel weak. "What if we die, Thorne? All of our hard work – overthrowing Levana, saving the world – what if it all goes to waste? Even if we don't get killed during the attack, there's still a chance it'll fail either way. Levana will kill us! Or worse, she'll-she'll torture us."

Finally, a small sob erupted from her throat and Thorne moved to comfort her. He pulled her away from the arch and into his arms. "We can't afford to think like that. We knew the risks going into this, Crescent. One day at a time, remember?"

She frowned. "R-right."

They were quiet then, and he brushed a stray hair out of her face, shooting her his Prince Charming smile. She blushed and a stray tear fell from her eye and began to roll down her cheek. Thorne leaned over and pressed his lips to the spot where the tear paused, then pulled away and brushed his thumb across it.

"It's all right, Cress."

His fingers lingered against her skin and he was looking so intently at her that she thought she might die right there in front of him. And she thought that their lips might touch, that he might finally kiss her, after all this waiting she'd been doing.

She could tell he was moving closer, just by virtue of the fact that she kept feeling warmer, and warmer, and warm-

Ze'ev cleared his throat. "So, uh, Cress. Didn't you meet Thorne after your father caught him trying to steal his hover?"

"Yes," she squeaked, moving away from Thorne and stepping back toward her desk. "Why?"

"Just checking my memory. Have you found anything on the Linh girl?"

She relayed all of the information, or lack thereof, to him. When she got around to the whole dating-the-prince part, she paused. "We do have some… slight complications."

At the flash of confusion in Ze'ev's eyes, Cress did her best to repeat the spiel she had told Thorne – Cinder and Kai were together, and only the stars knew how long it would take for them to fall in love. It could really screw things up.

Cursing, Ze'ev kicked a wall. "This is going to screw everything up."

"_Clearly_, considering you kicked a wall," Thorne said with a quirk of his eyebrow.

Ze'ev tensed. "This isn't funny, Thorne. We're now putting her in unnecessary danger if something goes wrong."

Thorne gave a mild shrug. "I suppose we'll have to do everything right, then."

* * *

**Author's Note**: FUN FACTS! I finished writing chapter 11! Which means I'm 3 chapters ahead now :3 I've been neglecting my homework so bad... I'm almost a week late on an assignment (in my defense, my professor said, and I quote, "I'm not too concerned with deadlines, just that you know what you're doing." Bless her heart.) Anyway, I don't know when I'll get around to 12. We'll have to see! PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS. THE EMAIL ALERTS MAKE ME SO HAPPY. /caps. Have a lovely weekend, darlings.


	9. Chapter 09: Uninvited Interference

The rolling farmlands of Rieux, France always brought a sort of calm to Scarlet's heart. She'd spent most of her life there; it was the only real home she ever knew. The endless sky, blue with wispy clouds this morning, and the serene emptiness of the rural land had always struck her as something better than anything she could've dreamt of.

It took a lot of adjusting to go from living in the city and being spoiled to waking up at 6 AM every day, even when it was still completely dark out, but she'd learned to love it. Getting along with her grand-mère had been difficult at first – Scarlet was sure she wasn't cut out to work her entire life away like her grandmother, but she came to love that, too.

She threw down the brakes of the ship as her grandmother's farmhouse came into view, the smile on her face growing ever-bigger, stretching almost ear to ear. She hadn't seen the farm in over a month and she missed it more than anything. She could almost smell the fresh air just beyond the windshield as she pulled into the open hangar, her grand-mère standing off to the side and waving as she entered.

The hangar still had the familiar scent of grease mixed with manure, and it wasn't necessarily pleasant, but Scarlet was finally home.

Too bad she would be leaving again tomorrow.

"Scarlet, ma chérie! Did you have a safe trip?" her grandmother asked, embracing her.

"Bien sûr, grand-mère. It was a little crowded up in space, but it was the quickest way to get here."

Michelle Benoit took a step away from her granddaughter and studied her. "Would you like to go to the Tavern with me? I'm making a delivery to them today."

The redhead beamed. "Yeah! How's Gilles?"

"Stubborn as always." Michelle smiled. "But he will be happy to see you, I'm sure."

"Is that man ever happy, honestly?"

"No, I believe not. Come, I'm sure he'll threaten to dock us for being late. I'll drive – you must be exhausted."

She half-dragged herself to her grandmother's delivery ship, her legs still begging to stretch more before she sat again, but they would have to wait.

Scarlet hated the way it felt like she'd completely forgotten the colors of Rieux, the green of the fields and the red brick houses set against endless horizon. Cows grazing in the fields and horses galloping along fences.

Once the plans had been fulfilled and everything was over, she and Ze'ev would be moving back for good. The Commonwealth was beautiful, but frankly a little too humid and a bit too crowded. She missed the comfort of a small town – not so unpredictable, at the very least. Quiet and beautiful and comfortable. It always felt like home, even to Ze'ev, who was raised on a completely different planet. Well, satellite.

* * *

The familiar garbage stink of the alley was almost welcoming. She peeled herself out of the passenger seat, her legs rejoicing that they were once again free, and popped open the hatch, reaching for a crate of tomatoes and one of onions as her grandmother opened the door to the tavern.

The noise of the kitchen, mixed with the rowdy patrons – even so early in the day – brought another smile to her face. The muscles in her face would definitely be sore for the rest of the day.

She pushed in through the noise of the tavern and none of the cooks or servers paid them any attention as they waded through the crowd, nearing the walk-in fridge where they always dropped their shipments off.

Gilles found them before they could set the crates down. "Michelle! I was afraid you'd forgotten about me." His eyes skidded over the old woman and landed on Scarlet. "Scar? Is that you?"

She beamed. "Who else?"

"I haven't seen you in a while! How are you?"

"I'm great! Just came to see grand-mère. She said you were coming here so I tagged along."

"And how is your delightful streetfighter boyfriend?" Gilles asked, taking the tomato crate from her hands and setting it in its marked place.

Scarlet shoved the onions onto a shelf and wiped her hands on her pants. "He's wonderful. Still in the Commonwealth, but I'll be heading back there tomorrow."

"Not staying? Why not?"

Scarlet shrugged as she grabbed a crate from her grandmother. "I came because I left something important here. We're vacationing in China with our friends from LA – you know about Cress and Thorne, right?"

Gilles rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, yes. I remember how that boy tried to steal one of my waitress's tips."

"Émilie forgave him," said Scarlet. "He's really not such a bad guy. Questionable morals, sure, that's a given. He's almost charming, when he isn't being mind-numbingly annoying."

* * *

"Is that not all the time?" The old woman asked, handing over a crate of lettuce heads. "Honestly, that boy has no sense of manners."

Scarlet pulled up the zipper on her hoodie to her diaphragm. "Thorne is an acquired taste."

"And to think that little Crescent is interested in him," said Michelle as they followed Gilles back in through the kitchen.

Scarlet chuckled. "Those two are such a mess, honestly."

The tavern's owner pushed a plate towards Scarlet. "Here, take this to booth 6."

The redhead narrowed her eyes at him, grabbing the plate and exiting into the tavern. It was Sunday morning, but it was still as raucous as always. She spotted a lone woman at booth six and walked over. "Eggs Benedict with bacon and toast on the side?"

As the woman nodded, there was an uproar of laughter from the bar. "I believe it," someone guffawed.

Sighing, Scarlet set the plate in front of the woman and gave her a fleeting smile, and then marched over and leaned over the bar, looking down it.

"I don't. The prince and a wedding planner? _A commoner_? He wouldn't stoop so low!" Another round of laughter.

"No, no. Prince Hikaru wouldn't, but Prince Kai's always had it out for the precious lower classes," said another voice.

She quirked an eyebrow. "What's up, guys?"

"Scarlet!" Someone shouted. "Haven't seen you here in a while! You're in the Commonwealth, right?" She located the voice a few stools down. A regular. "You hear about Prince Kai supposedly dating the woman who's planning the royal wedding?"

Scarlet blinked. "Linh Cinder?"

"Yeah!"

"Those are just rumors," she shouted back.

"A pretty popular one, I'll say!" Another stranger laughed.

She cursed under her breath and excused herself, wondering if the rest of the team had found that out yet. It was only a rumor at that point, based on speculation from people who'd seen them together at appointments and the knowledge that she'd gone to the palace last night. Apparently it was for business, but someone had leaked that she was there for dinner. Point of it was, even rumors would ruin their plans.

She pushed through the small crowd and into the kitchens, where her grand-mère and Gilles were having an animated conversation. She grabbed the fabric of Michelle's sleeve.

"Hey, uh, grand-mère, I'm really tired. Can we go home? I'll stop by in the morning to say goodbye to everyone."

Michelle gave her a suspicious look before softening and smiling. "Of course, Scar. You must be starved! Come, I'll make some crepes with fresh berries and we'll have one of our old-fashioned Benoit debates. How's that sound?"

"Lovely, grand-mère," said Scarlet with a more-than-theatrical yawn. "I'll stop by in the morning, Gilles. Goodbye!"

After they got outside, Michelle furrowed her brow. "What's wrong, Scarlet?"

"I need to contact the squad. Immediately. I just heard there's a rumor flying around that the prince is dating the wedding planner."

Michelle's eyebrows shot up. "_Prince Hikaru_?"

"No, Prince Kai." Michelle's expression contorted into one of understanding. "If we succeed in our plans, we could put that girl in serious danger. Stars only know what Levana would do to her."

"They're only rumors, Scar."

"We can't afford the risk."

She pulled the port out of the pocket of her hoodie and vid-commed Ze'ev. The globe in the corner of the screen turned only once.

"Scarlet? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Ze'ev! I was just at the Tavern with my grand-mère. I heard about Prince Kai and Linh Cinder-"

His emerald eyes darkened. "Cress just told us."

"So, it's true?"

He nodded. "She went over the audio we've collected from Cinder's office. We're still moving forth with the plans, if you agree to it."

Scarlet exhaled a sigh, her mind swimming with all of the images of what could happen. "We've no other choice, do we?"

Ze'ev grimaced. "I know. There's a lot that could go wrong if we succeed, but it'll be far worse than we don't." Scarlet dropped her eyes as he continued. "It'll all be over soon."

* * *

He never wanted this.

He never wanted _any _of this.

Emperor Rikan was not supposed to die so soon. His father was not supposed to be gone already.

It was not supposed to be his job yet to lead the country. He should have had more time. He deserved more time.

But his father died and he screwed up everything his first week in office. They hadn't even had time to plan the coronation before Levana swooped in and ruined everything. The only way out of her wrath was a marriage alliance.

Of course, he was stupid enough to believe that, though the stupidity hadn't lasted long.

It wasn't even a day after announcing the alliance when he was in his office late – he was always there late now. He never got to sleep anymore and he was just _so tired_. And he wasn't doing anything important – mostly staring at the wall and wondering how he had been so unlucky. How all of this misfortune just had to fall on him. But the netscreen on his desk pushed itself out of the desktop, turned on by itself, connected to a comm by itself.

That probably should've scared Hikaru more than it had. He mostly watched it happen with cool indifference and the smallest dash of curiosity.

"Y-r H-ness? –our –ess? Your Hi-ss? Your Highness?" Once the connection was fully formed, there was a man behind the screen with wild emerald eyes and hair that stuck up in every direction.

"What the hell?"

"Prince Hikaru! Don't disconnect. This is urgent. " The man was flanked by four others, all of whom he dwarfed easily–a curvy young woman with red hair that curled in perfect ringlets to her waist, a petite girl with short-cropped blonde hair, and next to her, a man at least an entire foot taller than the former, with brown hair and a look that said he would've preferred to be elsewhere.

His curiosity outweighing his suspicions, Hikaru cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

The brunette man from behind him spoke first. "ALAS! Anti-Lunar Attack Squad."

"Shut _up_, Thorne," the redhead growled. He imagined her name was something obvious like Red.

"Came up with it myself," he grumbled. The blonde-haired girl smiled at him, her eyes lit with longing–Hikaru recognized the look from some of the girls he'd dated in the past.

Emerald Eyes shook his head. "We've come to you with urgent information regarding Queen Levana and her plans should the alliance go through."

Confusion filled Hikaru. He raked a hand through his hair. "What do you mean 'should it go through'? It's already going through."

"But it can't," the blonde girl squeaked.

"Levana's planning to kill you," Emerald Eyes said plainly.

Hikaru laughed, though it felt more like someone stabbed him in the chest. "Of course she is."

"That's not all. She also plans to use the Eastern Commonwealth's army, as well as the army of Luna, to take over the rest of Earth."

"And I'm supposed to believe this because…?"

Red straightened her shoulders. "Because you have no other choice, Your Highness. This is life or death."

He shook his head, trying to clear it. This was absolutely absurd. "And how exactly do you plan on stopping her?"

"Well, first," said the Thorne guy, "we're going to kidnap you. With your knowledge, of course. We're only telling you because it'll make it easier for us if you're willing to help."

"What about my brother?"

Red shrugged. "Don't worry about him."

"Oh no. I'm not agreeing to this and leaving Kai behind."

Emerald Eyes sighed. "That would complicate things."

"Aren't things already a bit complicated? What would be the point in only kidnapping _one _of us?"

"It'll push the wedding back at least a day," said Thorne. "And that's all the extra time we need."

He gaped at them. "Extra time? For what?!"

"To overthrow Queen Levana, Your Highness."


	10. Chapter 10: Interruptions

Hikaru paced the length of his office like maybe the repetitious action might give him better alternatives, or perhaps maybe make him less guilty about what he had to do.

He had to be kidnapped and postpone the wedding.

Fine.

He had to force Kai to take his place for the time being.

Fine.

He had to be as inconspicuous about it as possible.

Fine.

He had to keep a secret it from his brother.

Fine - or rather, not fine at all.

Kai would _hate _him, and there was absolutely no way to avoid that. He knew his brother had feelings for the wedding planner, but she wouldn't be in danger. She was just an ordinary girl, and not really all _that _pretty, so there was really no reason to worry that she would be in danger.

And there was also the fact that Kai was already suspicious, because Hikaru was an _idiot, _and he never let himself forget that. His office probably wasn't the best thing to conduct his top-secret business, considering that even clearing the corridor didn't mean someone wouldn't show up unannounced. Even if they didn't come into his office, they could still hear through the door.

Just like Kai had.

Stars, he'd really messed up on that one.

Well, it hadn't exactly been his fault.

But his mind still went back to that wedding planner. He knew well enough that Levana didn't believe in the notion of love and monogamy, not since the death of her husband – if one could really call him that, considering it was obvious that the whole arrangement was completely nonconsensual on his part – and so she perhaps wouldn't mind the girl.

That was comforting.

It was only a temporary arrangement, anyway.

With that, Hikaru pushed the thought into the recesses of his mind and went over everything in his head again.

The wedding was in six days. The plans would be executed at the stroke of 00:00 tonight. He just had to keep his nerves from eating him alive first.

He assessed the office. It was just as his father had left it less than a month ago. Picture frames on the walls and the desk alternated between photos of the family that was now nearly nonexistent. All of them together when their mother was still alive, Kai and Hikaru as kids playing in the palace gardens, their parents at the wedding and their mother's coronation as Empress, the last photo they'd taken as a family before Letumosis hit.

It was an advanced form of Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that affected the mid-Second Era. They hadn't seen any illness that they couldn't treat since before the Fourth World War, and it hit quick, wiping out millions before they could come up with the antidote – and they had, just after the Emperor succumbed to it himself.

It was a mistake in a lab, someone who had not gone through the proper storing procedures was now long-dead from the disease, taking millions with him. It wasn't his fault that it had mutated so quickly, but it should have never had the chance to in the first place.

Hikaru's legs were growing sore from pacing so much. He'd been at it for at least an hour and a half, but his mind was still going a thousand miles an hour.

The kidnapping would go through. Their plans were solid. Kai would absolutely detest him. He wasn't so sure about anything else.

* * *

23:50. Hikaru poked his head out of his office and told the guard that he was dismissed, and that he won't have to worry about a replacement. It was late, there were plenty of cameras, and he was in the middle of filling out a report. He would likely be in his office all night. The guard left without question, as expected.

23:52. Hikaru stared at the changing family photos on the wall, his heart in his stomach, his mind wandering to his brother, who was probably fast asleep by now. He wanted to comm him, tell him he was sorry ahead of time, but that would ruin everything. Anything would be suspicious at this point.

23:55. He listened for the click of the lock on his door–a sign that the hacker girl had broken through palace security. They'd likely taken the footage from the last five minutes and put it on a loop by now. He paced his office. Always pacing, always anxious.

23:58. The exhaustion was starting to weigh on him. Maybe he could sleep after he arrived at their station, even just for an hour or two. He yawned and walked to his desk. The fabric of the chair's cushion had finally let go of his father's scent. His chest ached.

00:00. The rhythmic knock echoed in his office, though it had been nearly imperceptible. As casually as he could, Hikaru made his way to the door, and slowly pulled it open. The man–Thorne, maybe?–tipped his head in greeting.

"Sorry about this," he muttered, placing a cloth over Hikaru's mouth. Hikaru vaguely felt his body being caught just before everything went black.

* * *

He stretched his arms over his head as he walked into the breakfast room, expecting Hikaru to be there. When he wasn't, Kai glanced at a servant. "Did Hikaru come in already?"

The servant lifted her eyes from the ground. "His Majesty has not come to breakfast yet," she said, settling her gaze back on the carpet.

Kai took a seat and began to eat from the plate of fruit that had been placed before him, comming his brother. He tried not to worry–Hikaru hadn't slept much lately, and perhaps that's where he was.

He sent a comm to Cinder, smiling as he tapped it out.

_Come over later? :)_

It hardly took any time for her to reply.

_Again? You're so demanding._

Kai chuckled to himself. _Pretty please?_

_I'll see you at 15:15_.

His evening plans all but set, he started to wonder about Hikaru again.

Still having received no comm from him, Kai finished his breakfast and went to his brother's office. The morning guard indicated that he hadn't seen Hikaru enter or leave, but that he had told the night guard that he likely wouldn't be returning to his room that night, and so he expected that Hikaru was still in there.

Kai stitched his eyebrows together, suddenly suspicious, and then swiped his wrist over the scanner. The door opened, but the office was empty.

"Hikaru?" He called out. His own voice echoed off of the walls and he looked around. There was no note, no sign of him having been there, no sign that he had left. Anxiety bubbling in his stomach, Kai left the office.

He found Torin next. "Hey, have you seen Hikaru?"

Torin regarded the prince with an ever-calm expression. "I haven't. Is he in his office?"

"No," Kai replied, dragging his fingers through his hair. "Has anyone said anything about him?"

Torin waved it off. "I haven't heard anything. I'm sure it's nothing, Your Highness. He's probably getting some fresh air. Your father used to need it all of the time."

Kai sighed. Hikaru had been acting weird lately. Maybe he was in the gardens, or maybe he'd utilized their old disguising tactics to go visit the market. That had always been a favorite stress release of theirs.

He decided to head back to his office and try not to think about it. Besides, he had to kill seven hours until Cinder showed up. That was something to look forward to.

* * *

His head was thick with a drowsy fog when he finally regained consciousness.

Hikaru dragged himself up and buried his face in his hands, groaning through the exhaustion.

"He rises," said a voice from the door… thing. Hikaru didn't know what to call it. He was sleeping in a creaky cot in a small alcove of an underground cave. There was a curtain that was pushed aside, a small bit of light filtering in behind the form in the opening.

"Which one are you?" Hikaru asked.

The man flipped a switch and it dimly lit the room around him. Brown hair and blue eyes. Thorne, maybe? "Carswell Thorne. Most just call me Thorne. Or Captain. Or Captain Thorne."

"Thorne," Hikaru muttered.

"It's a pleasure, Your Magesticness," said Thorne. "Sorry about the headache I'm sure you have."

He slid off of the bed and used the wall to keep himself upright, still slightly dizzy. "It's fine. Has there been any news yet?"

"Nah, Cress has been keeping up on everything. She said she saw your brother running around the palace this morning, probably looking for you, but nothing came of it."

"Stars, I bet he's worried sick."

"Well, his girlfriend stopped by not too long ago. I'm sure he's doing just fine."

Hikaru returned Thorne's smirk with a scowl. Thorne put his hands up defensively. "Well, uh, anyway, if you're hungry, Scarlet brought some food."

Hikaru sighed and rubbed absent-mindedly at the bandage on his left wrist, where they'd cut out one of two of his ID chips. "I'm starving."

"That's what I thought."

* * *

She found herself in his office again, hardly thirty minutes since the end of her last appointment. He perched himself on the edge of his desk and drew her into his arms, pulling her close. Her heart thumped in her chest as she strung her arms around his neck.

"I didn't think you were going to come."

"I told you I would."

"But you were late."

She grinned. "Iko yelled at me until I told her I would come."

"Oh."

"Don't take it like that." She lifted a hand to run it through his hair. "I wanted to, but the rumors are just-"

"-I know," he muttered. "But what does it matter, Cinder? Honestly?"

She tucked her head under his chin. "I'm not used to the attention, Kai. I'm not used to being noticed. And the _stares_. Stars, those are the worst. I think I actually liked being a nobody."

He held her tighter and goose bumps flooded her skin. She loved him being this close, holding her like that. Like she might float away otherwise. Like he didn't want to let her go.

It was so nice, this whole "being wanted" thing.

"I can give you your own personal guard, you know. We can have someone with you at all times."

"That sounds really creepy and probably unnecessary."

He grunted. "You clearly haven't met any of my fangirls yet."

She choked out a laugh. "I have, remember?"

"Right," he said, chuckling. "Sorry about your window, by the way."

"I'm just glad that the guys you sent came and fixed it immediately." She pulled her head away and looked at him.

There was a moment of silence between them before he wet his lips. "You look stunning today."

She quirked an eyebrow. "You know, you're going to run out of adjectives one of these days."

"I'll come up with more. I'll combine them, if I have to." He hummed for a second, one of his eyes squinting in concentration as he stared just over the top of her head. "How about… celime?"

She glared at him. "What?"

"It's a mix of celestial and sublime! No? No good?"

"Kai, that's _terrible_. It sounds like some sort of bacteria. Or something you find growing on a bathroom wall. Probably both."

"That bad, huh?"

She smirked, pushing herself onto her toes and kissing him. "Just d-don't let it discourage you," she said, laughing anxiously.

He grinned. "I wasn't planning on it." Then, he captured her lips again, kissing her hard. He pulled away. "So, you'll be coming to the wedding with me, right?"

"I'll _be _at the wedding. But I'm not sure if we should steal Hikaru's thunder by making our relationship public." Cinder was trying so hard to not show him that the very prospect of them going public at all made her nerves crawl and her wires charge and, just, _no, no, no, no_. It was more likely that she was far too obvious about it.

Kai laughed. "It was a joke, Cinder. It's fine."

He kissed her again. She didn't think he would ever kiss her enough.

Then, the door flew open.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have an emergency."

Kai dropped his hands and Cinder jumped away. "Torin? How did you get in here? The door was locked!"

Torin regained his composure, though his voice was still full of panic. "Emergency override codes."

Kai's eyes widened. "What? What is it?"

"It's Hikaru." A beat. "He's gone."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Who's on Spring Break? Meeeeeeee! My birthday is in a week and a day! I look forward to all that being a 21-year-old in the US means. I hope to get a decent amount of writing done! I'm pretty far ahead on this fic (I just finished chapter 15!, it just kind of fell out onto the page... nice)... for now... I do have some homework to attend to this week. But I will be doing a lot of writing! Maybe!


	11. Chapter 11: Consequential Abandonment

Kai nearly slid down the front of his desk onto the floor. He straightened himself up and shook the cobwebbed confusion from his head.

"What about Hikaru?"

"He's gone," Torin repeated.

"What do you mean, 'he's gone'?" Kai was trying to hide his shaking now.

He glanced over at Cinder, who looked as though she had completely turned inward. Her shoulders were hunched, her hands limp at her sides–like she didn't even have the strength to wrap them around herself, her chest heaving. This was bad. This was so, very bad.

Torin grimaced. "Security footage caught nothing suspicious. He never left his office last night. He sent the guard home, and he never left. But he isn't there, so it is clear that our footage was tampered with."

Kai measured his breath. "We have to tell Levana."

Cinder let out a small whimper. He'd nearly forgotten she was there. His head was so foggy, anxiety bubbling in his gut. What had Hikaru done? Was this all part of the plan?

He met Torin's gaze, his hand searching for Cinder's. He found it, squeezed it, and then spoke. "Have you tracked his ID? Either of them?"

"We found them both on his desk," said Torin.

He felt Cinder's hand go limp again. She was trembling. He met her eyes. "What does this mean?" she asked, her voice small and sad and so, so broken.

"I don't know."

Torin cleared his throat. "Miss Linh, you should go. You've already found out too much."

"She stays," said Kai. His voice was still weak, tremulous.

"I shouldn't." She tried to retract her hand, but he only held tighter.

"Cinder, please."

"I-" Her chin fell. "Okay."

Kai tugged her into his side. He needed to be near her, to feel grounded.

"Miss Linh cannot be present when we make this information known to Queen Levana." Torin's voice made him sound like he was dead. It was emotionless. Inhuman.

Kai squeezed her hand again. "Of-of course. I just... let me think about this for a minute."

Torin nodded. "I'll leave you alone for a moment. I will call the council members and we will return in ten minutes. After we speak with Queen Levana, the rest of the world leaders will follow." His eyes flicked to Cinder for a brief moment before landing on Kai again. "We will work this out, Your Highness."

Torin turned on his heel and left.

Kai fell against his desk, his free hand going to his eyes. "I knew he was up to something. I knew he was, and I completely disregarded it! I'm so _stupid_."

Cinder flinched. "You're not worried about him?"

"He was planning something, Cinder."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard him talking to someone one day, but there was no one in his office when I went in there. He said he was worried you were working for Levana. He said–stars, I don't know, Cinder. I can't tell them this. If someone else finds out that he faked his own kidnapping to get out of the alliance, he'll be abdicated. But I suppose I have to take the throne either way."

She worked her jaw. "The marriage alliance."

"This is so bad."

He thought he might cry. That wasn't very diplomatic of him.

He looked back up at Cinder. Her eyes were down, her left hand pressing against her temple. _I can't cry_, she'd told him. _But the effort gives me a headache_. He tugged on her arm and she offered no resistance. It was like pulling on an unlatched door. She fell into his arms and he held her tight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

She didn't hug him back. "Nothing ever is." He listened to her take a shuddering breath. "We were ridiculous to think this would ever work."

He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He would be emperor soon, and that seemed to be the only thing that was certain. His brother abandoned him. Abandoned their country.

Kai knew it wasn't fair for Hikaru to be forced into marrying Levana. He could very well have been in his shoes.

And he supposed that now he was. And at the moment, he _hated _Hikaru. For being so selfish. For not even so much as letting Kai know what was going on. He was his twin_, _for Luna's sake.

Now, he was here, comforting his girlfriend. He would have to forget her. They'd have to forget each other, because it was likely he would be marrying Levana. There was no getting out of it. Levana didn't care, not at all.

He tried not to think about it. He hoped she wasn't, either.

* * *

All Cinder could think about was Kai.

Perfect, handsome, loving Kai.

Her boyfriend. The prince.

Who was about to be stripped of both of those titles. He would marry Levana, he would become the emperor.

Her chest ached. Literally ached. It made her think of when Peony died. The emptiness she felt afterwards. The complete and total brokenness.

It was back. Just as soon as she was starting to get over it.

He held her close and she could smell his soap. It was such a familiar scent now–it still clung to the fabric of her couch. She supposed that it was good that it would eventually disappear. If it stayed around, it would've made everything all the worse.

"I'm so sorry, Cinder," he said again. In her head, the clock said they only had three more minutes until the cabinet members would arrive and she would have to leave.

She pulled herself from his arms and looked at him, her hands braced on his shoulders. He looked like he was on the verge of tears and she offered him a small, honest smile. "Maybe it's best if we pretend none of this ever happened, you know? Move on. There's not much else we can do."

"Cinder-" He enveloped her in his arms again. "It isn't that easy. It's never been that easy."

She sighed, finally wrapping her arms around him. "I know."

She knew he felt weak. He didn't have much more time to be weak, so she held him until the clock in her head started counting down to the seconds.

"They'll be here soon," she said. "I can… I can wait. Until you're done with everything in here. I can."

"It may take a while."

She brushed her fingers along his cheek. "I know."

He gave her another kiss. Long and slow and hungry. Cinder broke away when she heard treads.

"Your Highness, Konn Torin is here with the members of your cabinet. Would you like me to cancel your dinner plans for this evening?" The android reminded Cinder of how Iko looked before she bought the escort body. Small, white, round. Outdated.

"Yes. Thank you, Nainsi." Kai's voice had found its strength again. "Please take Cinder to my personal quarters, if you will."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Cinder made to follow Nainsi, turning just slightly to wave at Kai. He waved back, a pathetic lift of his hand and tilt of his fingers.

She was so stupid.

* * *

"You are otherworldly, My Queen," said the seamstress, analyzing her work.

Levana pulled her hair over her shoulders and stared into the mirror. "I suppose that if this what I must wear, it will have to do."

The seamstress's eyes widened with fear. "Are you unhappy with it, Your Majesty?"

"Your work is fine. It's this fabric, and the color. Red and gold are not becoming of me." She pursed her lips. "But as I said. It will have to do. That will be all."

The seamstress left, relieved, and Levana moved to get changed when there was a beep from the door.

"I'm busy!" she barked.

The speaker announced Thaumaturge Sybil's request for entrance.

Levana took a deep breath. If it was Sybil, then it must be important. "Fine. You may enter."

"Your Majesty." Sybil had barely made it through the door before she started to apologize. "I know this is very untimely, but Prince Kaito has requested an immediate conference with you."

Now _that _was interesting.

"On what grounds, may I ask?"

Sybil kept her eyes trained on the ground. "He did not say."

"Set up the netscreen in my office. I will be in there momentarily."

When Queen Levana settled into her plush office chair, she was not sure what to expect.

She sat straight up, her hands folded on her desk, a smile on her lips. "Prince Kaito, what a surprise! May I ask what's brought you before me today?"

The prince appeared disgruntled and unsettled and it set her nerves on edge. "It appears that… it appears that Prince Hikaru has been kidnapped, Your Majesty."

She laughed. It sounded strangled–like the air had run out too soon. "I beg your pardon? How did this happen? Are you sure he did not just run away?"

Kai sat up a little straighter. "It-it seems the security footage was tampered with, and Prince Hikaru would not have been able to do that himself. At this time, we have no reason to believe he was conspiring with another person, or a group, in order to escape. This has all the makings of a kidnapping."

Levana tilted her head to the side. "What would prompt a kidnapping so close to the wedding? I am assuming that you know we will go through with it." She narrowed her eyes. "No matter what."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"So, you are prepared to take his place?" she asked.

"Yes."

Levana grinned. It was always nice to have a back-up plan, after all. "Wonderful."

She cut off the connection.

* * *

Cinder didn't realize that she'd fallen asleep until she heard the door latch. She sat up quickly on the couch and rubbed her eyes, groaning.

"Hey, sorry I woke you." His voice was sad, and the reasons why came back to her through the haze in her brain.

He took a seat on the settee in front of the couch and she reached out, resting a hand on his knee. Her words were slow, careful. "It's over for us, isn't it?"

Kai buried his face in his hands. He looked like he wanted to cry. All he did was nod.

She let her hand fall again. "I thought as much."

He looked up at her. "I'm sorry, Cinder."

"It's not your fault." It wasn't either of their faults.

All she wanted was to crawl into his arms and disappear. Just like his brother had.

Maybe if Kai lost the throne, they could move to some small country and live there forever. It was a nice thought. Unrealistic, but nice.

"I hate this," he said.

"I guess I won't be your date to the wedding."

His laugh was half-hearted. She was surprised he'd even laughed at all. "I guess not."

He moved to sit next to her and pulled her onto his lap. She offered no resistance, but she did not lean into him. "I should leave, Kai. I figured I'd stay so we could have a proper goodbye but I–I shouldn't stay. It'll just make leaving harder."

"Levana's coming tomorrow," he told her. "She'll be here sometime in the afternoon. Stay with me until then. Please, Cinder."

She stopped resisting him and fell against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Okay. I'll clear my schedule. But… but after tomorrow, I will see you at the wedding and then that's it. We can't pursue this anymore, Kai. Whatever 'this' is."

He held her tighter. "I don't know why not. It's not like she'll live here. Not all of the time, at least. She'll never have to know."

"Kai."

"I'm sorry, Cinder. I just-I'm lost here."

She moved to kiss his jaw. "I know."

He sighed. "I'm so sorry, Cinder."

* * *

Cinder awoke early in the morning. She was still tangled in Kai's arms and bed sheets, his steady breath on her neck.

She shut her eyes again and tried to find some peace in her own head. This was the last time they'd ever be allowed like this–tangled together in silk, his arms wrapped protectively around her, their heartbeats synchronized.

Life was so, so unfair. But this was what she signed up for, wasn't it? A life of uncertainty and, sure enough, heart break.

She wished for sleep again before she felt him shifting behind her. He let out a small groan and pulled her against him.

"Morning." His breath tickled her ear and her heart leaped. His memory hadn't had time to come back just yet.

"Good morning," she whispered.

He kissed her ear, and then the spot right below it, and then her jaw, working his way down until he was propped up on an elbow.

"Kai," she muttered. "Kai, stop."

He sighed and rolled away from her, pulling the sheets away from his legs and freeing himself from them.

Cinder shifted out of the bed and stood, grabbing her gloves off of the night stand, pulling them on. "Do you know when she'll be here exactly?"

She could feel him staring at her back as she pulled her shirt on over her tank top. "No. Just that it'll be sometime this afternoon."

She sat back on the bed, still facing away from him, her eyes on the sunlight that stretched across the beige carpet, creating shadows beyond the curtains.

Kai slid over and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in the curve of her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Cinder."

"Stop apologizing, Kai. It isn't your fault."

He tightened his grip and she squeezed her eyes shut. All she wanted to do was go home, go back to her apartment and work on forgetting him. Maybe she could finish up her last few weddings and then move away. That, perhaps, was the best way to go about it.

He wouldn't even have to know.

* * *

He checked the comm that'd come to his portscreen. "Her ship just landed." He looked up at her and she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I should go. I-I shouldn't be here when Levana comes to meet her new future husband." Kai shut his eyes against the pain in hers.

He sat back against the edge of his desk and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes until he saw stars. "It could've worked if Hikaru didn't abandon the country. It would've worked if my brother wasn't so selfish."

Cinder stepped away from him. "It doesn't matter. I need to go."

"Cinder, wait," said Kai. "Please don't leave."

"I can't stay, Kai. You know I can't stay. I've already been here far too long. Levana will be here soon and I-I can't face the woman that's taking you from me. That's taking everything from us."

He reached across the space between them and wrapped his fingers gently around her upper arms, pulling her towards him. Just one kiss, and she could go. He pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers.

She tensed, but didn't resist, her hands going to his face. The fabric of her silk gloves was smooth and soothing against his skin. He wanted to hold her there forever, to keep her in his arms and never let go.

The speaker in his desk chimed. "Her Royal Highness, Lunar Queen Levana requesting en-" the door was pushed open before Kai and Cinder had time to react.

Cinder snapped around and side-stepped, her hands clasped against her chest.

Levana stood there with her head thaumaturge, Sybil Mira, and two guards–one blonde, one red-haired. The queen was all poise as she tittered. "Oh dear. It appears I've walked in on my fiancé with another woman!" She listed her head, pursing her lips. "Oh, Miss Linh. I would have expected better of you."

Cinder tugged on one of her gloves. "I-in my defense, Your Majesty, we were not expecting this turn of events, either."

"Oh, never mind that," said Levana.

Kai looked at her. "That's all, Cinder." He dropped his gaze to the floor. "Goodbye."

Cinder said nothing. Kai could feel his heart breaking in his chest as she turned to leave.

"No," said Levana. "Jacin, grab her."

The blonde guard was over to Cinder before she could even cry out, her arms twisted behind her back.

"Leave her out of this, Levana," Kai growled, panic rising in his gut. "She's just leaving. Whatever we had between us is over now. Let her go."

"Oh, that's cute," Levana cooed. "Unfortunately, I've heard rumor that your precious girlfriend is a cyborg, am I right? I would have let anyone else go. But a cyborg? Honestly, Kaito. What were you thinking?"

Kai's fists clenched and unclenched, but he knew he could do nothing about it. "She has done nothing wrong here, Levana. Let her go."

The evil smile that greeted him when his eyes shifted away from Cinder startled him. "Let her go? I can't do that. This girl has offended me. _You _have offended me, young prince." She turned her head. "Jacin, take her to my ship. She will be punished accordingly."

"She hasn't done anything worth punishing!"

"Details, Prince Kaito. The existence of Cyborgs is offensive for humans and Lunars alike. This girl is an abomination and I myself am ashamed to be in her presence. There is no better way to prove that you are a ruler worthy of being feared than by following through on your punishments."

"That's not how it works here on Earth, Levana. You can't do that!" Kai protested, tears forming in his eyes. His father would berate him for being so weak, but what could he do? He was powerless against Levana, even in his own country.

"I can, Your Highness, and I am."

* * *

**Author's Note: **What? They fell in a tangle of bedsheets together! It's what every Kaider shipper has always wanted! Um... uh... anywayyyyyy... I'm turning 21 tomorrow! B) We're going to Chicago. I'm so excited. I digress. I hope you guys at least moderately enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! I appreciate every single one of you!


	12. Chapter 12: Trapped

He was in her head.

His smile, his laugh, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when she would make a joke.

He had been in her head for the last two days.

_You have no idea how beautiful you are._

_You're all I ever think about, Cinder._

She hated herself for being so dismissive of him once things went bad, though she had every right to be. And he knew it. She shouldn't feel guilty.

Especially not when she was the one here, in this stuffy, dark room at the very bottom of Levana's royal spaceship, cuffs around her wrists, chained to the floor. She couldn't muster up the surprise necessary to be shocked that Levana had a damned torture chamber in her spaceship.

What was there to be surprised about? The entire population of Earth, and probably Luna, knew she was evil and cold-hearted. This was just another thing she likely deemed essential to really assert her dominance.

And it was working.

Cinder has lived with his ghost for two days. She only knew how long it'd been because of the clock in her vision. Anything that required a net connection, she couldn't do. She was completely cut off.

Her eyes were nearly swollen shut at this point, and sometimes she could still taste the blood in her mouth. She had already lost connection to the toes of her cyborg foot. Queen Levana really enjoyed telling her guards to snip random wires in Cinder's cyborg parts while she sat back with a goblet of wine and _laughed_.

So much for leaving the country.

Cinder did not know why this was happening. She did not understand what had made her deserve this. Any of this.

She spent the first entire day thinking about Kai, and how he probably thought she was already dead. Already a lost cause. Her heart ached for him. She just wanted him to be happy, and this was not how that would be achieved.

That was how she spent most of the second day, too.

And it was all Hikaru's fault, wasn't it?

No, no. No. Not even after everything, she couldn't blame him.

This was absolutely Levana's fault. If Cinder made it out alive, well, she was already plotting her own revenge.

She heard footsteps approaching. _Speak of the devil_.

The heavy door was opened and a silhouette entered. A light in the corner switched on. Cinder cringed away from it. She'd been kept in near-darkness the entire time. It was really messing with her senses.

"My, it smells _awful _in here. Oh, look at my ugly duckling," she cooed. Cinder was numb to the quiet panic that erupted in her chest. She was used to this. Two days, and she was used to this. "You look so much like my older sister, you know. I thank the stars every day that I got rid of her before she could reproduce and knock me out of line for the throne. And yet, I still have to look at _you_. You disgust me."

She didn't understand it at all. This was not her fault.

She did not ask to be a cyborg. She did not ask the prince to want her. She did not ask for him to lose his freedom to date whomever he wanted.

She did not deserve any of this.

Levana began to float toward Cinder, before stepping over her, making sure to dig her heel into Cinder's hand. Her human hand. She tried not to cry out in pain, to not give the witch the joy of hearing her scream. Not this time, at least.

She sat on the throne-like, cushioned chair at the corner of the room, where the only light in the cell was placed. It was fluorescent and blinding.

Cinder stayed facing away from her. She'd already begged enough, she had already asked enough questions. There was no more she needed to know.

She could feel Levana staring at her from her perch. She was like a bird of prey, she even _looked _like one in that lighting, from that angle….

She heard the queen rise and she moved to stand in front of Cinder.

"I really don't care much if my husband, whoever that ends up being, takes a mistress. Hell, let him have hundreds! But a cyborg? How disgusting. How… revolting." She spat the last word out like venom.

"He loves me," she croaked. It was not entirely the truth. They'd only been together for two weeks…. But it was all she could muster. It was all she had. A fragile string of half-truths.

Levana's shrill laugh pierced her ears, Cinder's control panel too damaged for her audio interface to know to lower its intake volume. "What could he possibly know of love?"

* * *

Cress was panting, her hand pressed against the wall for purchase, tears streaking her cheeks.

She was a mess.

"What's wrong, Cress?" asked Thorne. Cress was an easy crier, but this seemed too serious.

"Th-they-to-took her," said Cress, trying to catch her breath. It wasn't a long trip from her alcove to the main meeting place, so it was likely something else making her nearly hyperventilate.

Hikaru perked up. "Who? Who took who?"

"Cinder!" Cress all but shrieked.

Thorne rushed over to her, wanting nothing more than to comfort her. "Who took Cinder?"

"L-Levana. She's-she had them take her to her ship."

Ze'ev jumped up and Scarlet gasped. "When?" Ze'ev.

"Two days ago."

Ze'ev looked like he wanted to kick another wall. Thorne's mind was wrought with confusion. "How did we just now find this out?"

"Jacin. He's waiting for us to get back. _Now_."

They all ran back to where Cress's aptly-named "Hacking Station" was placed. Sure enough, Lunar Guard and double agent Jacin Clay was sitting there on screen with his chin in his palm and his eyes trained on something just past the camera in his port. He looked bored.

"It's about time," he said.

"About time?" Hikaru. "It's been _two days_! And why is a Lunar Guard working for the enemy? What the hell am I missing?" Aces, he asked a _lot _of questions. It was a little off-putting.

Jacin only lifted an eyebrow. "Long story. It took _two days_, Your Majesty, because I had to find a chance to get away. I don't have much free time these days, you know."

"Tell them," pressed Cress, frustration in her soft voice.

"As I was telling our dear Crescent here," his tone was full of contempt, "Her Majesty arrested Linh Cinder and has taken her to a holding cell in her ship until she can return to Luna and be punished accordingly. She has offered Prince Kai 7 days to find Prince Hikaru, and whether or not he is found, the marriage will proceed on the eighth day."

Thorne dragged a hand down his face. "So, we get an extra two days. Aces and spaces and stars, why did she take Cinder?"

Jacin tipped his head in Cress's direction. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Cress frowned and turned back to the group. Thorne noticed that her eyes snagged on Hikaru before she looked at Thorne again. She always looked at him when she had to say something that was difficult for her. "She was offended that Kai was seeing her, since she's, you know." She looked at Hikaru again. "A cyborg."

* * *

He never slept anymore. He was starting to miss the warm embrace of unconsciousness.

The days brought endless meetings with committees and other world leaders and the head of the military – always without any news of his brother, not even a breath of him. The nights brought nightmares, even while wide awake.

Cinder hurt. Cinder being tortured.

Cinder dead.

He thought about his brother, too – he wasn't worried at first, but he had figured that Hikaru would have at least left him some kind of clue. But there hadn't been an inkling of anything in any sweep he or security did in the wake of his disappearance. He didn't only imagine Cinder hurt or dead, he imagined his twin and only living family hurt or dead, too.

It was all too much.

Kai was sure that if he could sleep, his nightmares would feel that much more real.

The exhaustion was really getting to him, though.

Two days since she's been gone. Five until the wedding.

Kai couldn't help but look forward to the wedding, if only because it meant he could likely pry information from Levana and it wouldn't be too much longer when he would surely meet Cinder in death. Levana was probably really good at keeping up on her promises.

Even still, the wedding plans had been completely done by Cinder, and everything reminded him of her.

No doubt, the day of the wedding would be completely suffocating for him. Everything, from the band down to the orchids, would remind him of her and the fact that she wasn't there, and that he would more than likely never see her again. Not alive, at least.

The thought clenched a cold fist around his heart.

And then there was, again, the case of his brother.

He had no idea where Hikaru was, if he was even alive, if he was even on _Earth_.

Kai had never been so alone in his life. When all else failed, there was always Hikaru.

He supposed that he still had Torin, but it wasn't the same. Their relationship was too professional. Even if Torin wanted to treat Kai like a son, his title would force him to treat Kai like the future emperor instead.

It made him sick.

He needed grounding. He needed human interaction. He needed-

Iko.

He needed Iko.

* * *

The roses he had brought her on their last date were dying. They were her favorites from the gardens – white on the outside and red on the inside and very rare. He brought them to her for their fifth date, the third one they'd had at her apartment. It was a prime spot, tucked away in the corner of the city and nowhere the prince would ever be expected to be.

But they were dying, because she had gotten them four days ago and they needed water.

Her apartment was exactly as she'd left it – nearly-spotless, the only blemish being her slightly unkempt bed and a towel laying across the bathroom counter from when she was getting ready that morning. He walked to her closet and grabbed a sweatshirt from a hanger to take for himself, just in case. A way to maintain his sanity just for a little while longer. It felt strange and maybe, in a sense, a bit pathetic, but he wasn't ready to forget about her any time soon.

He left her bedroom and clutched the sweatshirt close to him as he made his way to the small utility closet right next to the small pantry in Cinder's kitchen.

When he pulled open the door, he jumped a bit. Iko was shut off and on her charging dock, her face lifeless and very, very creepy. Bracing himself, Kai reached around to the back of her neck and unplugged the charging cord before flipping the power switch.

He stepped back and heard a whirring from deep inside her head, before she blinked a few times, a small light shining from behind her pupils – noticeable in only the darkness.

She worked her neck like it was kinked before analyzing him.

A pause.

Then, she began to scream.

* * *

**Author's Note**: No, I did not (and will never) forget about precious angel Iko. Also, so I'm sure you all have figured out by now that Cinder is neither Princess Selene nor Lunar? I was going to reveal it in a note a few chapters back because people kept asking, but no. Levana just really hates her, no matter the AU. Hatemates, those two (you know... soulmates but _hate_ instead of_ love_!).


	13. Chapter 13: Counting Losses

"Prince Kai!" Iko squealed. Her voice was high and only clearly not human by the slight tinny sound behind it. "What are you doing here? Did Cinder tell you to come get me? Where is she? Wait…. It's been two days! Why have I been off for two days?!"

Kai chewed his lip, turning over his thoughts. "That's, uh, what I came for, actually."

Iko tilted her head, her synthetic, yet all-too-human eyes full of unprogrammed wonder. "Where's Cinder?"

Kai stepped back out of the closet and moved to the table, sinking into a chair. It took everything in him not to fall over onto the table. "You've missed a lot in the last 48 hours."

Iko was silent for only a second, and perhaps a half, before she started to panic. There was no doubt she was running through the events of the last few days that were covered on the news. "What happened to Prince Hikaru? What's going on? You have to marry Levana now? _Where is Cinder?_"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Iko, calm down and listen, _please_. Levana knows she's a cyborg."

"Oh, stars. But Lunars hate cyborgs! What's going on, Your Highness?"

"They took her, Iko. They took her and I… I don't know if she's still alive or if she's hurt or what they've done to her. I just know that they took her."

He could feel himself starting to cry. He felt so pathetic for it. He was supposed to be above an emotional connection to the things happening around him. He was a royal, for Luna's sake, and he needed to act like it.

Iko let out a cry and her hands flew to her mouth. "No! _Cinder_!"

"Iko, listen," Kai said, trying to calm her. "I came for you because I need you to get through this with me. The wedding is in five days and I need you to help me through this."

"What can I do, Your Highness?"

He softened. "You're the most human android I know. And I could really use a friend."

The android offered him a small smile. "Cinder isn't dead."

"I'd rather not hold on to hope right now," he said.

"I would know if Cinder were dead."

He gave her a look. "You would know?"

Iko nodded. "Just trust me, Your Highness. Cinder is alive."

Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "I really, really hope you're right, Iko."

"Oh, I am!" She sat at the table across from him and rested her chin in her palms. "I'm surprised they let you leave the palace."

He shrugged stiffly. "It took a lot of convincing to be able to come here without a guard. I told them that no one has ever bothered me when I've gone out and been careful about it, that they had no reason to start now. Besides, they're tracking my every move anyway. I don't doubt they've accessed the security cameras all over New Beijing to watch me."

The android regarded him with her lips puckered. "Cinder would be upset with you putting yourself in danger."

"I'm not in danger."

"You are always in danger, Your Highness." Her metallic gold eyes bore into his. "But I will be happy to assist you in surviving the wedding."

His laugh sounded strangled. "That's about as far as I'll get, anyway."

* * *

"No way." Hikaru shook his head. "You're lying."

Cress fiddled with her fingernails. "No, I'm not lying."

"My brother's dating a godforsaken _cyborg_?"

Scarlet shot him a look, anger rising inside of her. "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but are you kidding me? This girl has done nothing to you, and she's in danger. Don't you understand?"

"We're all in danger, Scarlet." He said her name like it had a bad taste. "Why the hell didn't he tell me?"

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "I think it's a bit obvious, don't you?"

Hikaru glared at her before storming out. Scarlet huffed. "Thanks, Jacin. Try and at least make sure Levana doesn't kill Cinder, okay? It's vital that we keep her alive until we can get to her on the day of the wedding."

"Got it, boss," said Jacin, a bit more than sarcastic.

The feed cut off and she huffed again.

"Scar?" Ze'ev brushed her arm. The action was soft, caring, calculating.

She pursed her lips. "I'm thinking we should just keep him and let Prince Kai become emperor instead."

"Sh-should I go talk to him?" asked Cress. Quiet and perpetually-afraid Cress.

Scarlet shook her head. "No, I think it should be me."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Thorne muttered.

"Not at all."

With a measured breath, Scarlet stepped out of the alcove into the main cave, her shoulders back and her head up. She was glad that they were technically the ones in charge here–even though he was the future emperor, _they _were the ones that were saving the rest of the world.

She found him in his designated "room", his back against the wall, hunched over on the cot, brooding.

Amazing.

"Is it really that terrible?"

His head shot up. "What do you want?"

She leaned against the archway and crossed her arms. "Cinder Linh is still human, you know. She's really made a life for herself. It isn't her fault she got mixed up with your brother and, by extension, this entire mess. She doesn't deserve you hating her for what she became. Do you even know _why _she's a cyborg? It wasn't really her choice."

He glared at her.

"She's an orphan too. Just like you and Prince Kai."

"Do not compare us to her," he snarled.

Her nails were digging into her skin. "Why? Because she's been 'enhanced' by science? Because she was just a normal girl until her life was destroyed by a careless civilian who altered his hover to make it go faster, causing him to wreck into the one carrying her and her parents? Killed them both. She ended up in the hospital for a _year_. Not even including rehab and physical therapy."

His glare faltered, but he otherwise seemed to be only angry.

"All I'm saying is, you hate this girl, this young woman you hardly know, because of something she didn't choose. A lot of people choose becoming cyborgs over dying, and can you blame them? The technology is out there. Why let it go unutilized?

"And _furthermore_," she continued before he could protest, "she's dating your brother! They seem pretty happy! You should be worried that she's in danger of being killed before we can get to her. That should be what's burdening you, not the fact that Kai is dating a cyborg."

He shook his head defiantly. "You couldn't possibly understand."

She pushed herself away from the archway and moved to sit on the other side of the cot. He tightened in on himself, clearly not wanting to be near her. "Understand what, Hikaru? What do I need to understand? It seems to me that you're the one who doesn't understand."

"The press will tear him apart."

She rolled her eyes. "To hell with the press! Did you not catch that she's in danger? We won't be able to get to her until the day of the wedding, when it's certain that Levana will not notice, and that's cutting it pretty close. We can only hope that Levana doesn't plan to execute her before then."

His muscles relaxed, his legs splaying out before him. "Why does she hate her so much? Levana, I mean. Why does she hate Cinder so much? "

"I don't know," said Scarlet. "We know Lunars hate cyborgs and androids, and it probably didn't help that she was seeing Kai, but it's not like what we did was at all her fault." She pushed her hands into the mess of curls that was her hair. "I can't wrap my mind around why she arrested her. She didn't _do _anything."

"I've got a theory or two," said a voice from the main corridor of the cave.

Scarlet looked over. Ze'ev's green eyes were vibrant from even that distance. "Well, no use just standing there. Come tell us."

He walked over, but did not sit on the cot. Hikaru and Scarlet were taking up most of the room as it was. "You two remember Queen Channary, right?"

Hikaru lifted an eyebrow. "What about her?"

"Don't you think our wedding planner strikes quite the resemblance to the late queen?"

Scarlet sat back against the wall. "Stars, she's not–Cinder isn't–"

"–No. Cinder is very much an Earthen. The queen didn't produce an heir before her very untimely death. It's just that this explains why Levana hates her so much. It was never a secret that she and Channary were enemies, even though they were sisters."

"Levana's getting revenge on a ghost," Scarlet said plainly.

The prince sighed. "She shouldn't have been able to take Cinder. She's done absolutely nothing illegal."

"I think that's the worst part of it." Scarlet stared at her hands in her lap. "She didn't do anything. She's completely innocent, and yet Kai still couldn't stop Levana from taking her."

Ze'ev spoke this time. "The thing is, why did Levana approve of her being hired if she hated her so much?"

"Knowing her, she's probably always felt that way about Cinder. She just used her cyborg status and her relationship with my brother to her advantage."

"And now we have to save her," said Ze'ev.

Scarlet nodded. "And now we have to save her."

* * *

Cress leaned forward and shut off the netscreen. She had the saddest expression on her face, her sapphire blue eyes tearful and full of fear. Thorne reached out for her hand.

She glanced up at him and he offered a kind smile. "It's going to be all right, Cress."

She squeezed his hand. "I don't know. Everything was going perfectly until now." She wiped away a stray tear with her free hand, clinging to his as if it was the only thing keeping her anchored. "Well, maybe not perfectly, but I didn't have any doubts before."

He frowned. "This Cinder thing is just a setback. She'll be fine. We'll save her and then we'll save the world and we'll reap all the benefits!"

Cress didn't seem appeased.

Thorne lifted a hand and brushed away the remaining tears on her face, leaving his palm pressed against her skin. He smiled again. "You've got to trust the plans, Crescent."

"I do." She leaned into his touch. "Can you blame me for being so afraid?"

He ran his thumb over her cheek. "Not at all."

"Thorne?"

"Hm?"

"What are you planning on doing once all of this is over?"

He dropped his hand away from her face, but did not let go of her hand. "I don't know. Maybe go back to the American Republic. I haven't really thought about it. You?"

She cast her gaze to the ground. "I haven't really thought about it, either. I don't really have anywhere to go now."

Thorne took her other hand in his. Hers were so much smaller, almost fragile. "You'll always have somewhere to go, Cress."

Cress stitched her eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"You could always come back with me."

She flushed. "Wh–"

"–Just as friends, of course." He beamed. "What d'ya say? Roommates?"

Cress giggled. "Okay. Roommates."

He pulled back one of his arms and began to wave it in the air. "Just think! We'll be worldwide heroes! You and me, we could go anywhere! Not even just the American Republic."

She sat back in her seat, feigning exasperation. "Oh, stars! There's so many places to choose from!"

"So, let's stick to America. Are you more into seasons and humidity, humidity and heat, or year-round dry heat?"

She puckered her lips, considering it. "Hm… seasons!"

Thorne dipped his chin. "East coast it is."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ah, Thorne. Just friends? Are you _sure _about that? (PS. I finished chapters 16 &amp; 17 this weekend! The end is coming too soon oh noooo!) Posting it a little early because I'm at a con all weekend (it's Friday and I'm already exhausted).


	14. Chapter 14: Rescue

The morning of the wedding day arrived. At this point, every day was starting to blend together. Kai could hardly tell the days from the nights. He'd slept a total of twelve fitful hours in the last six days, and it was starting to take a toll on him.

There was still no word on his brother, and he couldn't get Levana to give him any information about Cinder. It was all too much. It was all so unfair.

Iko had been a huge help, at the very least. Even with all of the speeches he'd had to give and press conferences he'd had to attend, she was the one constant. In his more vulnerable moments, she pulled out a new anecdote about Cinder that always made him laugh, rather than making it hurt worse.

"Your Highness," said Nainsi from the door, ripping him from his thoughts.

He blinked a few times, trying to dispel the constant exhaustion that existed just past his eyelids. "Yes?"

"I have brought you breakfast," she said, entering with a tray. "Your stylists will be up in one hour to start getting you ready for the wedding this afternoon."

Kai paled. "Of course. Thank you."

She set the tray down on his desk and rolled out of the office.

He dragged his palms down his face.

He was just so tired.

Kai felt more and more hopeless as the days passed. There was no way Cinder was still alive wherever Levana had taken her. Iko was still certain that Cinder wasn't dead, but that was a lot more likely to be her not wanting to short her programming. Or maybe it was to keep Kai sane. He couldn't decide which. He tried not to let her in on the fact that he felt he already knew the answer.

He picked at his breakfast and thought about Cinder–it was becoming habit at this point. The day had only really just begun, and already she was all he could think about. They'd virtually planned the entire wedding together–well, maybe not really, but he'd helped make a lot of the decisions. It was perhaps the most unfair that she wouldn't be there to see all of her hard work in action.

Hikaru was always at the back of his mind, too. They didn't even so much as have a lead on where he was. It was like he'd vanished.

Time was really starting to blur together. He didn't realize an hour had passed until the speaker on his desk announced the arrival of his stylists.

They dressed him in the suit made for his brother. They made him up like an emperor should look.

He was not this person.

This was not meant to be him.

How selfish a thought.

* * *

"Your Majesty, we must begin your preparations for the wedding. Please follow me."

The queen, her thaumaturge, and two guards followed after the palace employee. Sir Clay stayed behind to guard the prisoner, as instructed by Queen Levana herself. He kept his eyes pinned to the wall of the spaceship, waited fifteen minutes to assure that they were truly gone, unclipped the port from his belt.

"On our way."

Succinct and to the point, as he was accustomed to.

He swiped his ID card to unlock the door to the holding cell.

She looked pathetic lying on the floor in a heap of bruised skin, bones, and half-broken cyborg parts.

"Wake up, cyborg girl," he said, nudging her human leg with his foot.

She whimpered. "Leave me alone. Please."

"Oh, but don't you know I'm here to save you?" He laughed to himself before bending down and flashed the card across the cuffs holding her to the floor. They blinked open and fell away from her wrists.

She cried out in pain as he stooped down to pick her up. She was heavier than she looked, thanks to the damned titanium limbs, but she had clearly lost weight over the last few days.

"This might be a little painful," he warned, jostling her in her arms. She let out a small cry again, but her head mostly lolled about. She was too weak to do anything. It was almost tragic. "You'll be okay soon," he muttered, stepping out of the cell and making his way to the back of the ship.

The small, silver podship was tucked discretely beneath the royal spaceship, the side door open, the pilot clearly ready for takeoff at any time.

There were two Lunar guards lying on the ground, bullets in their chests, but likely not dead. "Nice aim," said Jacin. "They were pretty good guys. I hope you didn't hit anything vital."

"I only hit what I intend to."

He gently draped Cinder across one of the seats before sliding into the copilot seat, buckling in.

"Perfect timing," Scarlet said with a pleased smile.

He looked at her. "Let's go. She's practically starving to death and I have a time limit here."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

She was in so much pain. Why were they transporting her? Everything came in flashes. The Lunar guard said he was saving her… but from what? Her memory was too hazy, her control panel in desperate need of replacing. She was just so tired and so, so hungry. The sound of the podship had lulled her to sleep, which had seemed to help a bit.

When she woke again, she was being dragged from the podship. Unfamiliar hands, unfamiliar, kind voices. What was going on? Was she being taken to her death? Did these people know–did they pity her?

She felt someone tapping the pads of their fingers against her face.

"C'mon, cyborg girl. Wake up."

"I'm awake. My name's Cinder," she muttered, her words slurred together, her eyelids too heavy to open. "If someone calls me 'cyborg girl' one more time, I'll–" Her words disappeared, and the empty threat hung just behind her lips.

It was the same voice. "C'mon, you've gotta meet the squad. Then we'll get you some food and medical help."

Cinder finally mustered up enough energy to open her eyes. There were three people standing before her. She chafed her human fingers against her brow, her metal hand draped over someone's shoulder. They were helping her stand, whoever they were.

"So tired." Her head was pounding against her eyes and her temples and probably her entire skull, too.

Someone cleared their throat. "We'll make this quick, then. I'm Ze'ev."

She was blinking a lot, but by the time her eyes found his, stark and green and beautiful, someone else was speaking. The redhead next to him. "I'm Scarlet. I piloted the podship that brought you here."

The girl next to her spoke now. She was blonde. "I'm Cress!"

She wet her lips. "I… I know you. Both of you. You… my office… wedding."

Scarlet nodded. "We planted microphones and cameras in your office when we came to visit. It was necessary to assure you weren't working for Levana. Don't worry, we'll send you directions on where they all are when this is over."

She wasn't really processing their words. Some part of her knew she should be at least a little irritated about that intrusion, but at the moment, she had other things to worry about. "Oh… okay."

Whoever was supporting her chimed in this time. "Glad we got that cleared up. Carswell Thorne, at your service."

Cress tipped her head to Cinder. "Hello, Miss Linh, and welcome to ALAS Headquarters."

"ALAS?" she croaked, her voice breaking halfway through the question.

"Anti-Lunar Attack Squad." His tone was thick with pride. Thorne? She couldn't remember. The Cress girl was looking at him now. The same way Cinder looked at Kai. She wondered briefly if there was anything between them, but the thought escaped her as quickly as it had come. "Came up with it myself!"

Scarlet scoffed. "Not like anyone voted on it."

She heard someone approach, hating how attuned her senses were to footsteps now. "Well, look who it is. Welcome to ALAS."

Cinder, her veins filling with adrenaline at the sound of the familiar voice, snapped her head around and her heart rose into her throat. "Hikaru? You're-you're _alive_?" She didn't know if she wanted to hug him or kill him. If she even had the energy necessary to do either.

"Of course I'm alive." He scratched his ear. "It was, uh, necessary to do this to extend my whole 'being alive' thing. You know, to prevent Levana from killing me."

Despite feeling as weak as she did, she stomped over to him, detaching herself from Thorne's side. It was all she could do to keep from stumbling. "Do you have any idea what you've done to Kai? She's going to kill him now! And you're trying to say you had to just leave before she got the chance to do it to you?"

"You have to understand, Cinder. This is the only way this could've worked. We didn't think she would punish you–we didn't. I didn't even know you were a godforsaken cyborg. But there was _no other way_."

Cinder bit back an insult. "He thinks I'm dead, Hikaru."

He squinted his eyes at her, his tone even. "Imagine his surprise when he finds out you aren't. He'll be absolutely elated."

It took everything in her not to lunge at him, not to claw his eyes out with her mostly-functional metal hand. How could he be so selfish? So heartless? A shudder wracked her body as she stifled any reaction past her glare. "You disgust me, Prince Hikaru."

"Well, at least it's mutual."

Her lip twitched and she almost thought to let herself get one good punch in–

A sharp pain shot through Cinder's head and she stumbled backwards. Thorne grabbed her around the shoulders just before she fell.

Someone cleared their throat. "Well, this has been fun, but we have things to hash out. Cinder needs food and sleep for now."

She glanced over at the girl named Cress. "Thank you."

"Come on, I'll show you to our kitchen. Thorne?"

"Got it, Crescent."

With Thorne's help, Cinder and Cress walked to the kitchen.

It wasn't much of a kitchen, really. A portable stove and a small fridge tucked into a crevice. There was even a table and chairs–all plastic–in the center of the small alcove, holographic candles strung about.

Thorne settled her down at a seat at the small table and brushed his fingers across Cress's shoulder. "Take care of her." He gave her a wink before leaving.

The girl turned back to Cinder. "Uh, um–anyway, it's not much, but it is home," said Cress, her cheeks slightly pink, moving to pull something out of a freezer that sat on top of the fridge. "I hope you don't mind frozen food."

Cinder fixed her pony tail. "N-no, not at all. Thank you."

Cress set about getting the food prepared and Cinder slumped down in her chair, feeling only exhaustion. "How long has it been since you've eaten?" Cress asked.

"They fed me once every two days. So, not since yesterday." As Cinder spoke, the hunger started to set in again. She felt weak, sick, perhaps like she was dying. "Enough to keep me alive, but not enough to make it possible for me to put up a fight."

The girl's voice grew quiet. "That's terrible."

Not wanting to go through the last few days again, Cinder changed the subject and hoped her mind could hold onto it. "So, what's up with you and that Thorne guy?"

Cress handed her a glass of water. "I don't–what do you mean?"

Cinder downed the glass in one gulp and then grinned slightly. "I've seen the way you look at him." She dropped her eyes to the table and her smile faded. "That's how I look at Kai."

"What do you mean?" she repeated.

"Like he's the only thing that matters."

She reddened just as the oven beeped. "I don't–I don't know what you're talking about."

She stood up and rushed to the stove, grabbing the food out from the oven. Cinder rested her forearms on the table. "He looks at you like that, too, you know."

"I hope you like pasta. We've been surviving on it for the last month."

"Don't change the subject," said Cinder, slightly amused, though her hunger overtook her genuine curiosity when Cress placed the small plastic bowl of food in front of her and cautioned that it was hot.

"Don't eat too quickly, it'll make you sick," Cress cautioned. She took a seat at the table again, looking anywhere but at Cinder. "He wants me to come to the American Republic with him once all of this is over. 'Just friends'." She stared hard at the table, tracing her fingers over scratches in the surface. "I don't think it's like that."

Cinder risked a laugh. "You don't think it's like 'that'? You've got him wrapped around your finger."

"You got that from a two minute interaction?" Cress was openly glaring at Cinder now. She'd probably struck a nerve–the girl seemed insecure enough.

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm stupid enough to think that I know what love looks like." She dropped her head and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "For the record, I don't mind if you say no… but is there any way I can shower? I haven't in a week and I'm sure I smell terrible. I feel disgusting."

Cress seemed to relax at the change of subject that she didn't have to make herself. "Of course. I'll get you another glass of water and then I'll go grab Scarlet. She can take you to the ship."


	15. Chapter 15: The Saviors

Cinder's stomach was sore from having eaten, though she much preferred the feeling over the gnawing hunger that'd finally passed.

Scarlet was a great pilot, too. The drive was smooth, quick, and she even let Cinder curl up in the backseat without a harness. Sleep was beckoning, but there was a shower waiting for her… and clean clothes… and something told her these people were up to something, but her exhaustion and desire to be comfortable inside of her own body again had outweighed her concerns. They'd fed her and they seemed to be against the Lunar Queen ascending the throne of the Eastern Commonwealth, therefore protecting Kai by extension, so what was there not to trust?

Maybe she was being a bit too irrational by blindly trusting them.

But if there was hope that Kai would be okay, the irrationality she could live with.

The spaceship was huge–it was a cargo ship, after all. Cinder assumed it was stolen, but it didn't concern her. The water was hot and it was amazing to just feel clean.

After she'd changed, avoiding the mirror so that she wouldn't have to look at her eyes, one nearly swollen shut, the other with various colors layering over each other. There were fresh bruises atop almost-healed ones, and it was all sore to the touch.

She half-dragged herself to the cockpit, where Scarlet said she would be.

"You're looking better!" the redhead said to her as Cinder tightened the belt around her waist again.

"Th-thanks," she replied sheepishly. "I feel a little bad for asking, you've already done so much, but…."

Scarlet gave a gentle smile. "Anything you need, Cinder."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Are there any tools on this ship? A screwdriver and wire pullers, to be exact? This foot is nothing more than a chunk of titanium attached to my leg, but I think I may be able to fix it a little."

Scarlet tapped her chin. "I think there are a few tool boxes in the podship dock. C'mon, we're headed there anyway."

Cinder followed her through the maze of the ship. It was absolutely beautiful. Cinder felt the mechanic in her rise to the surface again. The ship was well-taken care of, even if it likely wasn't in the possession of someone who knew how to keep it in top condition.

She ran her human fingers along the wall as she walked, nicking her fingertips on the evenly spaced bolts as they moved, her hand skipping across the doorways that they passed.

Getting down the latter was the hardest part, considering none of the toes in her metal foot were functioning enough to grab the rungs, and her ankle joint only worked properly if she walked a certain way.

Scarlet flourished her arm towards a row of metal boxes. The scent of the podship dock–which Cinder hadn't noticed earlier–reminded her of the shop she worked in when she was younger. The memories were bittersweet, but she missed the simplicity of life then. When her only worry was staying far away from her step-mother's apartment.

She started to rifle around the toolboxes, searching for screw drivers, extra screws, and wire pullers.

"Is everything okay?" asked Scarlet as Cinder sat on the ground and splayed the tools out before her.

She beamed up at the redhead. "Everything's great. Levana's guards really did a number on my leg. I'll have to get my control panel replaced, too, but that's not something I can really help right now."

Scarlet watched as Cinder worked, pulling out half-worn screws and reconnecting matching wires until she could freely work her toes, before replacing the screws with brand new ones. When she stood up, she worked her leg and foot.

"Much better," she said, relief in her voice. "It'll still be hard to walk, but at least my foot will mostly cooperate."

Scarlet grinned. "Huh, you really are good at mechanics, aren't you?"

Cinder shrugged. "It's a learned talent. I wish my retina display wasn't on the fritz but, again, it'll have to wait."

A short silence passed between them. They both avoided eye contact until, finally, Cinder spoke again. "Scarlet, can I ask what you guys are doing? What's going on, exactly?"

She shoved her hands into the pockets of her red hoodie. "I take it you know the danger that Prince Hikaru was in if he married Levana, and the danger Prince Kai is in now?"

"Vaguely."

"It's a life or death situation. In this case, we've chosen the death of the queen."

"The queen?" She let out a skeptical laugh. Cinder was astonished, to say the least. "That'll never work! You won't ever get away with it."

Scarlet began to make her way over to the podship. "We should get back." She opened the door and climbed in. Cinder followed suit. "Look, we've been planning this for a while. You know of Princess Winter, correct?"

"Vaguely."

She started the podship and commanded the cargo ship to open the hatch. "She's technically the step-daughter of the queen, but most of Luna already accepts her as their future queen. They think she'll be a much better ruler."

"And how do you figure that?"

"Jacin, one of the guards, is her best friend. Well, they're probably more, but he'd never tell. _Anyway_, a lot of the guards hate Levana, enough to agree that Winter would be far better suited as ruler. This is strange, considering _they're_ sworn to protect the Queen. There are a lot of uprisings in outer sectors as well. The Lunar army can't hold them off for much longer."

"That's why she wants into the Commonwealth?"

"That, and to take over the rest of Earth. But who's surprised about that?"

Cinder said nothing.

"Regardless, this will all be over in a matter of hours. It'll be a bit of a political mess for a little while, but Hikaru will return to the palace and we'll return to our respective homes without anyone ever knowing we were involved," she gave Cinder a look as she said this, more meaning packed into her gaze than words could have expressed, "and Winter will be given the crown."

"So, just like that, Levana's dead and Winter's the Lunar Queen and that's it?"

Scarlet sighed. "It sounds outlandish, I know, but like I said, we've been planning this for a _long _time."

"You're just… you're just going to kill the queen."

She beamed, proud. "Yup."

* * *

Jacin dipped his head. "Sir Cosma."

The Lunar guard replied with a string of coughing that seemed to go on forever. "Sir Clay."

"Not having a good health day, I take it," said Jacin, his tone restrained.

The man shook his head. "I believe my time is coming."

A flash of conspiracy reflected in Jacin's eyes. "It will be quite the loss to our team." He threw a quick, indifferent glance around. "Are you prepared for today?"

"I am."

He nodded. "And how long has Her Majesty spent getting prepared?"

"Just over an hour."

"Ah. She will be ready any time now, then."

"Undeniably."

He took his place on the other side of the door and folded his hands behind his back, trained his eyes on the wall across the corridor.

Time ticked in his head.

Hopefully the guard who'd taken his place on the ship would not think to check the cell. He had made sure to let the man know that the prisoner was in there and that she was asleep and too weak to do anything that would warrant needing checked on.

It was the only part of the plan that could not be controlled–whether or not anyone noticed the prisoner's disappearance before the rest of the plans had been carried out.

The wedding would begin in an hour. The coronation would follow, and then the reception for the new Emperor and Empress. But they wouldn't be getting that far.

There was not silence in this corridor. Not when Lunar Guard Marius Cosma was dying, his life coming to an early close, his state of health not worth healing. There were plenty of men prepared to take his place. Her Majesty did not offer sick days.

The coughing was rather annoying. Jacin was almost counting down the seconds to when it would be over for good.

Not soon enough, though.

He heard the door of Levana's private room unlock. Jacin moved to pull the door open. All according to plan. Levana exited the room and then regarded Sybil. "Go check on Prince Kaito yourself, won't you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Sybil, scurrying away, no less loyal than a programmed android.

Levana worked her neck. "Now, will one of you escort me to my ship? I'd like to make sure everything is prepared for my return to Luna tomorrow evening."

Marius bowed to Levana. "It would be my pleasure."

They parted and the ticking in Jacin's head grew louder.

He waited, but only a few minutes. It wouldn't take more than ten for Levana to get across the palace to where her ship was docked, and he had to get to her a lot sooner than that, but there was one pit stop he had to make before then.

He pulled the door to the secret tunnels open without worrying about waiting for a knock. He knew they'd be there–those two were always right on time, unlike that arrogant and useless Thorne.

They exchanged no words, fearful that, though Cress had intervened in the security footage already, there was still a chance they could get caught there. It was meant to be a secret location tucked away in a corner of the palace. To be caught there would mean certain death.

Besides, they all knew what they were doing anyway.

Scarlet and Ze'ev hid themselves inside of Levana's private room, unlocked by Cress so that they wouldn't have to worry about Jacin's ID being logged by using his card.

Jacin took his place outside the door again, knowing that Cress was likely undoing all of the security interferences and had already sent a comm to Sir Cosma's port, using Sybil's contact information. He remained neutral, as always, and waited.

He heard the coughing before he heard the click-clack of Levana's heels as she walked back to the room.

She sneered at Jacin. "I trust Sybil is inside?"

He did not take his eyes off of the wall. "Yes, Your Majesty."

He turned and swiped his ID, pulling the door open for her.

The queen did not notice Sybil's absence until after the door was shut and locked behind them. She turned around furiously. "Sir Clay! What is the meaning of this?"

"For your safety, my Queen."

In one fluid movement, he pulled the gun from its holster and silenced Sir Cosma's current coughing fit with a loud shot that rang familiarly through his ears.

Levana did not so much as gasp. She narrowed her eyes at the remaining guard. "My _safety_?"

"Something like that," came a voice from a hidden corner of the room.

The queen whipped around. "What's going on?"

"Revenge, of course." Ze'ev smiled, slow and methodical in the way he circled the queen, his eyes not leaving her.

"Revenge?" She laughed. "What have I possibly done to deserve _revenge_?"

Scarlet sauntered out from her hiding place, pulling the gun from the waistband of her jeans. "Quite a bit, actually." She checked to make sure it was loaded, cocked it, and smirked at Levana, aiming the gun at her head. "Have you no regrets?"

Levana's lip twitched. She was trying to make it look as though she was unafraid, but Jacin could see the fear so thinly cloaked behind her eyes. It had taken her far too long to realize that Jacin was a traitor, too. "I have never felt regret for anything that I've done to you pathetic Earthens."

"I thought so."

Scarlet pulled the trigger.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Believe it or not, this was actually far more anticlimactic originally. Anyway, I get out of school May 5th, but I may disappear for a while (other than to update this monster) because school has hit me full force and _wow _I'm behind on a lot of stuff. Double majoring is HARD. Anyway, have a good weekend! xo


	16. Chapter 16: A Clean Break

"Sybil," Kai said with a tight-lipped smile. "Always a pleasure. I'm sure you're here yourself to make sure I'm not just a decoy?"

The thaumaturge gave a sly grin–she'd always reminded Kai of a witch–and spoke in her honeyed voice. "Oh, Prince Kaito, I'm sure you understand Her Majesty's concerns."

He dipped his chin. "Of course. She's no reason to worry. I don't think anyone will be rescuing–sorry, _kidnapping _me today. There's too much security."

"What a shame." Sybil smiled. It was evil cloaked in a layer of sugar and turned his stomach. "Well, I do trust you to show up at the wedding in an hour."

"You do?"

She ignored his question. "I'll be going now."

He waved his hand and sat back down. A silent dismissal.

But she didn't even have to wait for the door to be pulled open, because someone was barreling into her. A Lunar guard.

"How _dare _you!" she barked.

The guard poised himself, wiping the all-too-clear fear from his features. "My apologies, Sybil. There-there's-it's Her Majesty."

The color drained from Sybil's face. "What? What about her?"

Two palace guards appeared in the doorway behind him.

The Lunar guard sucked in a breath to collect himself. "Approximately ten minutes ago, just after your departure, Sir Marius Cosma began to escort Her Majesty back to the ship, before bringing her back into her private room under false pretenses, according to Sir Jacin Clay. It was then that Sir Cosma killed Her Majesty. He was immediately killed by Sir Jacin Clay." He breathed again, as if he hadn't done it at all during his explanation.

Kai jumped up from his desk. His first thought was about how he wouldn't have to marry her anymore. About how Hikaru wouldn't have to marry her anymore, if only he would just come back.

He saw Sybil flinch, and he thought that perhaps something inside of her had snapped. In that moment, she whipped around and let out a guttural cry, lunging at him, her hand going to a knife sheathed in her belt.

His only reaction was to protect himself. How pathetic, that that's all he knew how to do. Defense, rather than offense, but it was better than nothing.

The tip of her knife caught the skin of his cheek, but only just barely broke skin. It stung, but that was all she'd managed to do before a guard grabbed her. Kai swiped away the little blood that began to dribble out before laughing at her, being forced to her knees and handcuffed, hatred burning in her eyes.

It was all he could manage, though, because this was not a funny situation.

It was not diplomatic to laugh about the death of a queen.

* * *

New Beijing should have been in chaos. The _world _should have been in chaos, with the Lunar army already planning its retaliation.

But everything was strangely silent.

The Earth itself seemed to shudder with relief when it was discovered that the Lunar Queen had been murdered by her own guard. He was killed immediately by the other attending guard, Sir Jacin Clay. Or so the reports said. The coroner reported that he was in the advanced stages of Rigolith Poisoning and would not have lived much longer anyway–assassinating Queen Levana had seemed to be nothing more than his dying wish.

Cinder had been woken up from her slumber quite prematurely–she'd only been asleep for a little over an hour, the first bit of sleep she'd had since she was taken, aside from the trips in the podship–the squad that'd rescued her cheering loudly at the announcement.

She had stumbled out of her alcove and toward the noise. They all felt bad for having woken her, but when they told her what'd happened, she collapsed in nearly even amounts of elation and confusion. Ze'ev and Scarlet seemed rather pleased with themselves. She tried not to think too deeply into it, even as Thorne and Cress were hugging and congratulating them.

Surely a war would come after this, surely they were doomed to an interplanetary struggle that no one could predict the outcome of.

But it seemed that very few Lunar citizens supported Levana, and the Royal Thaumaturges were the only group that did not outright loathe the woman. The guards had apprehended them all as soon as the news spread. Thaumaturge Sybil Mira was already on her way back to Luna, having tried to attack the Prince once she heard what'd happened, and she was being deported and banned from the entire planet.

The Lunar government was already in the works to right itself. No one could've expected it to go so smoothly.

She passed glances around to the group. "There's no possible way that Queen Levana is dead and there's no retaliation. Not even from the court?"

Ze'ev shrugged stiffly. "There's been two attempts on Princess Winter's life in the last four hours alone, but she's being very well protected right now. It'll be a few days before it all blows over, and things aren't necessarily peaceful right now, but this is a victory nonetheless."

Hikaru laughed. A loud, triumphant laugh. "It actually worked." He looked at Cinder. "Can you believe it, Cinder? I'll be on the throne again and you'll be back to my brother in no time."

Her eyes landed on him, hatred once again boiling inside of her. It always did whenever he was near. "Oh, so suddenly you're supportive of your brother dating a–what did you call me? A 'godforsaken cyborg'?"

The tension in the room seemed to be suffocating at the moment. All of the elation and celebration had died down completely. His expression darkened. "He already hates me for what I've done. I'm not going to take anything else from him." He cleared his throat. "Besides, you being a cyborg is completely irrelevant."

"Irrelevant?"

He lifted a shoulder. "Yeah. I think that's how he phrased it. Whatever. Clearly he cares about you, and it'd be too awkward for me to hate you anyway."

She laughed. It was quick and airy and the sound bordered on a hiccup. "You're something else, you know that? Which one of us gets to break it to him that you only pretend to like me to make it less awkward?"

Hikaru looked around at everyone else before meeting her eyes again. They were all watching intently, like it was some sort of net drama. "I would prefer if he didn't find out. Like I said, he already hates me for this, and he doesn't need to hate me because I don't approve of his... personal preferences."

Cinder quirked a sarcastic smile. "I see. You must be trying to win some Brother of the Year award, right? He's your _twin_, Hikaru. He'll be able to tell that you hate me. But it's fine. We can just spend the duration of my relationship with Kai hating each other."

"I don't hate you." He sighed. "It's just… it's complicated."

"You're too influenced by common thought," said Ze'ev, cutting in, much to her relief. "While Cinder and Prince Kai should probably put off going public–because no one can know how long it'll take for it to come out about her status–she is still human and you cannot fault her for the things that put her in this position."

Cinder glanced over at them, wholly confused. Cress spoke this time. "She didn't choose this, Your Majesty. She doesn't deserve the discrimination, not from you."

Cinder turned back to Hikaru, who had an expression of pure guilt. Unless she was reading him wrong, but she hoped she wasn't. She suppressed a smug grin.

In her peripheral vision, Scarlet crossed her arms. "Like you said, she makes Prince Kai happy. You can't argue with that."

"Plus, it's just _rude_." Thorne. Cinder chuckled at that, slightly embarrassed. If she could blush, she would.

"Oh, so now you're all ganging up on me?" asked Hikaru. But he didn't sound angry, not really. It was as if the sternness of his tone was only plating the amusement behind it. "If you guys get caught, I don't _have _to pardon you."

"Uh oh, Emperor Boy is using his special, important powers against us!" Thorne laughed and everyone joined in, even Hikaru.

Cinder realized that there was a chance that everything was over. They were okay. They were alive.

She would be back with Kai soon.

The exhaustion hit her again and she pressed the cool metal of her left hand into her forehead. "Well, you guys have fun celebrating. I need to go lay down."

"Oh no," said Ze'ev. "We're getting the hell out of here. Scarlet will be dropping you on the roof of the palace. It's likely swarming with officers and military and the media, but Cress is really good at disguising ships from radars and making the military believe that we're one of their ships."

Cress blushed and tucked herself behind Thorne.

"How long until we leave?" Cinder asked.

"Scar's going to take Thorne and Cress back to the ship–I'm going to stay and get rid of the evidence that we were here–and then when she comes back, the four of us will be headed out. Gives Cress enough time to start signal blocking, and I'm coming with you three as a safety precaution."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "He still worries about me. It's a little offensive. But I do also need someone to pilot the podship during the latter half of this mission."

Ze'ev gave her a look and she pushed herself onto her toes to kiss the corner of his mouth. He was momentarily flustered, but Cinder pretended like she didn't notice.

"I still think you should just let me come and pilot it," Thorne complained. "I can handle it!"

"_Absolutely not_," said Scarlet.

Everyone laughed again. Except Thorne, who crossed his arms defiantly.

Hikaru tugged his hands through his hair, smiling wildly.

Cress squeaked in excitement. "We did it!" she exclaimed.

Cinder glanced at the girl and decided to use her enthusiasm to her advantage. "Hey, Cress. Can I talk to you for a second before we start heading out?"

Cress immediately blushed upon being addressed. She covered it with a grin. "Uh, yeah!"

When they found a secluded spot away from the rest of the group–and having checked that no one followed–Cinder leaned against the wall, smirking.

"So, have you told him yet?"

The girl seemed to shrink away. "Uh, uh, no… not yet."

She listed her head. "Why not?"

Cress pushed a hand through her hair. "I think you're wrong. I don't think he likes me like that."

Cinder blinked. "Hey, Thorne!" she called out.

Fear filled the girl's blue eyes and she shook her head frantically, before they both heard him approaching. "What's wrong, Cinder?"

Shoving her hands in the pockets of the baggy, military-issued cargo pants she'd been given on the ship, Cinder smiled at him. "Nothing! Cress and I were talking about clothes and you seem like you're a pretty fashionable guy, so tell me. Would Cress look better in a pink dress, or periwinkle?"

She didn't take her eyes off of him as he surveyed Cress. The way he scraped his gaze over the girl made it clear to Cinder that he wasn't checking her skin tone and comparing how the different colors would look on it. He seemed pleased to be able to look at her without treading lightly. Cress was too nervous to notice, but when Cinder really focused, she knew what she was seeing.

He was head over heels.

After sixty seconds, she cleared her throat. "Well?"

"Periwinkle," he said without hesitation. "Definitely periwinkle."

He turned on his heel and left, and Cress seemed to dissolve before her.

Cinder laughed. "Oh yeah, he's definitely into you."

"I don't believe you."

She grinned. "Just trust me. Tell him, okay? Tell him after you've finished doing what you've gotta do. Catch him off guard."

Cress blushed. "Did you catch Prince Kai off guard?"

Goose bumps flooded her skin, the idea of seeing him again soon infiltrating her every thought. It made her want to jump out of her skin with utter joy. She buried the excitement in the back of her mind–she wouldn't believe it until she saw him in the flesh. "He caught me way off guard, actually. It's tasteful if you know what you're doing."

"Which I don't."

"You have potential."

"You're weirdly confident about this."

Cinder laughed a little too loudly. "I'm sleep-deprived and still recovering from nearly being starved to death. It's kind of hard to be worried about giving dating advice to two people I don't even know."

Cress opened her mouth to say something, maybe give a retort and absolutely refuse to acknowledge that Cinder had said anything, but then they were being called for.

"We're leaving, Cress!" Scarlet. "You've got two minutes to grab your stuff and meet us at the podship!"

Cress sighed and then grinned at Cinder. "It was really nice to meet you," she said. "And… I'll try."

"Good." Cinder smiled and bowed to her quickly, letting her scamper off to the ship.

Like clockwork, Hikaru dipped around a corner and slunk over to her. "Hey," he said timidly.

Her features hardened. "Hi."

Silence surrounded them. Cinder wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but all she could think of was how nice it would be if she could just get one good hit in. She wouldn't even use her metal hand! But Kai would probably never forgive her for that one. Oh, stars, Kai–

He cleared his throat, interrupting her thought and effectively breaking the silence. "There's clearly a lot of things you and I don't see eye-to-eye on, and it's the same way with me and my brother. You seem to make him happy, though, and that's all that's important to me anymore. I've put him through enough and I'm not going to disapprove of his girlfriend and just make it worse."

She narrowed her eyes. "So, you're doing this for your sake."

"No. I'm doing it for his." The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched. "Kai's been through a lot. Hell, you've been through a lot. Frankly, as long as you don't hurt him, it's none of my business."

Cinder stared at him. "So, am I supposed to forgive you now?"

He seemed to stiffen. "Well, no. You don't have to."

"Good."

She brushed past him and left to find Ze'ev, choosing to help him get rid of their stuff rather than talk to him.

She heard Hikaru sigh behind her. Maybe in disappointment. Maybe in frustration. She couldn't really bring herself to care either way.

She would be with Kai soon. Stars and galaxies and cosmos, she'd be _sleeping _soon.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Oh boy. Where's it gonna go from here?! (Sorry for posting it kind of early. I have my sorority Formal tonight! Food and dancing! Yay!)


	17. Chapter 17: In Like a Lamb

"You're going to want to strap yourselves in. Ze'ev isn't well-versed in flying, but he's better than Thorne and I'm the best shot and so I need to do this job." Scarlet waved her gun through the air. "So, brace yourselves."

The palace came into view. It was surrounded by military vehicles, who were, according to Cress, not going to know that they weren't a military vehicle as well. It was getting onto the roof that would be the hard part. There were personnel stationed everywhere, with weapons and a lot of training.

Hopefully Scarlet was as good of a shot as she claimed to be.

She cocked her tranquilizer gun and unbuckled her harness, bracing herself with a hand against the windshield of the podship. She slung her gun over her back and threw the door open as the ship dove in.

A voice sounded over a megaphone. "Unidentified Vehicle, please exit the premises immediately or we will be forced to take action against you."

Scarlet whipped her gun around into her hand, taking aim.

"Unidentified Vehicle, I repeat. Please ex–" With a quiet _ping _from Scarlet's gun, and a distant _thunk_ heard vaguely through the megaphone, the man went quiet.

Military personnel began to swarm the rooftop now, guns at the ready.

Cinder would have cried out if not frozen with fear, because there were nearly a dozen guns pointed at them, and these weren't full of tranquilizer darts.

"Ready, Scar?" Ze'ev smirked from the captain's chair.

"I'm about as ready as I'm gonna get. C'mon, before they start shooting back."

The podship dipped, tipped sideways.

Cinder would've crashed into Hikaru, who looked like he was going to throw up, had she not been strapped in.

There were a few more _ping_s as Scarlet got off more shots, and Cinder watched as a few more troops collapsed.

Six of them remained.

Ze'ev circled around as Scarlet reloaded. "Ready!" she shouted over the wind.

She braced her left hand against the windshield again and took aim.

_Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. _

She was a _damn _good shot, and there were only two troops left, one of them looking as though he was calling in reinforcements.

"Unbuckle yourselves!" Ze'ev shouted from the pilot's chair.

Scarlet got off two more shots, taking down the remaining troops, as Cinder detached her harness.

They made a rocky landing, going too fast for it to have been anything but, and Scarlet helped them out of the podship.

"We've only got a few minutes before more troops arrive," she shouted over the wind. "Good luck, you two."

"Thanks so much," said Cinder.

Hikaru shook her hand and saluted Ze'ev.

Scarlet climbed back into the podship and they were gone.

* * *

He stared down at his hands, clenched into fists on the top of his desk. Levana was _dead_. It'd been five hours, and Luna was already celebrating. There was something severely wrong with all of this.

A whole family line completely wiped out. Continued only by a princess who was not even of royal blood. How had she been so easily accepted?

"Your Highness?" Torin's voice broke. It was an uncommon thing to hear, and it cut cleanly through Kai's thoughts. "There's something you need to see."

Kai glanced up. Torin was pulling open the door, his expression unreadable. When Kai saw who stepped through the door, his mouth fell open. "H-Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked healthy and unscathed, even if a little pale, standing there with a smile on his face and his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Hey, Kai. Long time, no see."

Torin cleared his throat. "I'll leave you two alone."

Kai jumped up from the desk. "What happened? What are you doing here? You're alive!"

He rushed over and then froze, not sure if he wanted to hug his brother or hit him. Hikaru scraped his gaze over his brother. "You look like a wreck."

"That's what happens when you brother disappears, your girlfriend gets taken by the evil Lunar queen, and then you're forced to marry the latter."

Hikaru flinched. "I'm really sorry, Kai. I couldn't say anything. Keeps me from being implicated. Just know I never would've let that go through."

His defenses weakened, Kai gave in, throwing his arms around his brother. Nothing about him seemed different. He disappeared for a week, yet he still had that conceited, lovable royal air about him, and he still carried himself with all the confidence he'd always had. "Don't ever keep a secret like that from me again."

Hikaru chuckled, hugged him back. "I'm hoping I don't have to."

Kai dropped his arms away and took a step back. "I don't think you will."

His brother sighed and scratched the back of his head. 'I'm also hoping that this means you don't hate me?"

He worked his jaw. "I don't. I don't think I even hated you before, not really. I could never hate you. You know that."

Hikaru smirked. "I sure hope so."

Kai rubbed at his eyes. "Stars, please tell me this means you're taking the throne back. I _really _don't think I'm cut out for it."

Hikaru chuckled. "I'm more than happy to take that back. Thanks for keeping it warm for me. Also, I'm not the biggest surprise you get today." He smiled, moving to Kai's side.

Kai was momentarily confused, the fog of exhaustion not allowing him to fully comprehend the words.

But then, the door to his office opened again. Blinking slowly, he turned his head. His heart sank into his stomach, and he shook his head to make sure he wasn't imagining things. A pair of oversized cargo pants. A plain white t-shirt, sagging over her slight frame. It was–she was–

Cinder was here.

_Cinder_.

Her smile was weak. There was a yellowing bruise on her left cheek, with plenty of other bruises in varying stages of healing littering her skin, and she looked just as tired as he felt. "Hey, handsome."

Kai thought his knees might give out on him.

Hikaru stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Anyway, I've got a lot of stuff to clear up. I'll be in my office if you need me. I doubt you will."

He brushed by Cinder, resting a hand briefly on her shoulder, and disappeared into the corridor.

They were alone now.

_Cinder_.

She took another step towards him. He was trembling all over.

"I thought you were dead." It was like seeing a ghost.

"I know." Her voice was so quiet that he wondered if she'd really said it at all.

She was moving agonizingly slow toward him, and maybe he should have met her halfway, but his legs felt like stone and he was glued to his spot. She had the slightest limp, though, and he almost forgot to stop his mind from wandering to try and figure out why it seemed so painful for her to walk.

"Cinder," he breathed.

Her pace quickened, and she was in his arms before he could think to say her name again.

She was real. She was here. She was very much alive.

Thin and tired with injuries that were still healing and eyes that seemed to have been blackened not days before, but she was alive. _Cinder_.

"Oh, Cinder, I'm so sorry. I should've tried harder to stop her. I'm so sorry I let her hurt you. Look at what she did to you…."

She pulled back just enough to look at him. He retracted a hand from her back to run it across one of the bruises that was almost healed. She winced as he traced it. "Kai," she whispered. "It's over. It's all over. You couldn't have stopped her, you know that. You don't have to worry about me anymore. How long has it been since you've slept?" Her eyes searched his intently, filled with concern and a sickening amount of care.

How could she care so much about him? Did she have any idea how bad her injuries looked?

"Now we're worrying about me?"

She glared, but there was still a softness behind it.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

She grabbed one of his hands and turned to leave. "Come on. You're going to sleep."

"Wait." He tugged her back into his arms. "I'm not ready to let you go just yet."

She relaxed, smiled. "Your room isn't that far. I won't leave your side."

He tied one arm around her waist and kissed her. She didn't smell like Cinder anymore, and she didn't taste how he remembered, but he didn't care. Because it was still her.

She turned her head away and sighed. "I've been able to brush my teeth all of one time in the last week. We should probably put that part off."

Kai buried his face in the nape of her neck, tightening his grip around her. "Five more minutes."

She ran her nails over his scalp. It was such a nice feeling and it sent shivers down his spine. "You're being silly, Kai. You need sleep."

"You'll be there, right?" he asked, his voice muffled by her skin.

"I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be."

He pulled back and pressed his lips to her forehead briefly before dropping one arm away, turning to leave. "Me neither."

She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked through the palace. He hoped that they would have time to make up for the last week. Maybe this was only infatuation–his brother and Torin had told him that enough back when they first started dating, but he couldn't help but want her to stick around for a while.

When they got to his room, she went into the bathroom and changed into a t-shirt and shorts he let her borrow. She was washing her face when he went in and propped himself against the counter, addressing her with sleepy eyes. "How did you get away from Levana's ship?"

She pressed a towel against her skin, wincing when she pressed too hard on a sore spot, and then looked up at him. "Rescue mission of sorts."

He quirked a brow.

Cinder hung the towel over the bar on the wall and then pressed a palm against his cheek. "There were people looking out for us, Kai. They helped Hikaru and they helped me. That's all I can tell you, for your own safety, of course."

When he realized she wouldn't speak of the subject anymore, he grabbed her wrist to press a kiss against her palm before releasing it and letting her hand fall back to her side. "I'll accept it. Don't take too much longer in here. I would love to sleep, but I don't think I could do it without you."

She smirked and playfully bumped his shoulder with a fist. "I'm going to brush my teeth with one of the two hundred extra toothbrushes under your sink, and then I'll be in there."

"Hey, you never know when you'll need a new toothbrush."

She raked her gaze over him and then sighed with contentment. "Stars, I've missed you."

"Ditto." He bent forward and kissed her temple before walking back into the bedroom, sinking into his bed. He spent so much time catnapping on the furniture in his office that he forgot the luxuries of his personal quarters.

It was an agonizing five minutes before she finally sauntered into the room, closing the bathroom door behind her. She crawled into bed next to him and let out a moan of ecstasy. "Oh, I think I forgot that there's such a thing as a comfortable place to sleep."

He didn't hesitate to bind her up in his arms, kissing her face all over. She giggled and resisted temporarily before capturing his lips.

He pulled away. "So we can stop putting that part off?"

"We can stop putting that part off," she said with a smirk. "But I would like to get some sleep in."

Kai frowned. "Okay, then. After we sleep."

As she crawled into him, he decided that nothing would be more amazing than sleeping for twelve straight hours, waking up for a light meal, and then sleeping for another twelve hours–all so long as she was right there next to him.

Because he didn't have anything to worry about at the moment–there was, finally again, someone else for him to fall back on, and he'd take the privilege and run with it as far as he could.

Cinder was okay. Hikaru was okay.

Maybe everything else would be, too.

* * *

**Author's Note**: The last chapter? This one? Stars, no. It's cute that you thought that, though.


	18. Chapter 18: Out Like a Lion

She couldn't breathe.

There was not enough oxygen in the world to fill her lungs, her chest cavity collapsing in on itself, her cyborg brain threatening shut down, though this based on pure instinct rather than on any warnings being flashed at her.

All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears.

And her own dry sobs.

She was surrounded by blackness and a heavy presence of _fear_.

She was going to die. Something, someone was coming for her. And she would not make it out alive. Whatever was coming for her, she could not survive it.

"_Cinder_." Someone was crying out for her. "_Cinder, wake up. It's just a dream, Cinder._"

She nearly toppled off of the bed when she jumped awake. She pushed him away, wrestling out of his arms. "Leave me alone! Please, stop, don't touch me." She let out a dry sob and pulled her knees to her chest, trying to slow her heart rate.

She was waiting for her brain to shut her down, her retina display not working and unable to suggest ways to stop the shutdown procedures that she was sure were being prepared.

Kai looked at her with the saddest expression. He was so worried, and she didn't know how to comfort him. Didn't know if she could, if she wanted to. "Cinder? What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

He reached out for her, but she flinched away. "Don't… don't touch me."

She extended her legs out, moved to stand, tried to remember where she left the clothes she had gotten from the Rampion.

"I need-I need to go home. I have to see Iko. I bet she's so worried! And I need to make an appointment with my cybernetic specialist. And, oh, my _clients_. I bet they're furious. I have to go."

She half-ran to the bathroom, her inability to feel the toes of her metal foot forcing her to limp just a bit. They were like stones attached to the end of her foot and it was frustrating and irritating and… and….

Kai tentatively lifted himself off of the bed. "Cinder? You can do all of that here. Iko's downstairs–"

She shook her head. "No. I need to go home. I need… my apartment is a _mess_."

"It's not a mess, Cinder. It's okay."

"N-no. I need to go home. Why is Iko here?"

She disappeared into the bathroom without a response, locked the door so he couldn't come in. Her clothes were still relatively clean, but she was already nauseous and so had to swallow her vomit as she pulled them back on, but she had to go home. She had to get out of there.

When she stormed out of the bathroom, Kai was already pulling on a t-shirt. She rushed to the door, but he grabbed her arm. "Cinder, wait. I'll come with you."

Cinder wrenched her arm from his grasp and grabbed for the door knob. "_No_. I can't do this. I need to be alone. With Iko. Whatever. Where is she?"

"Cinder…." Kai's shoulders fell. Tears were brimming his eyes. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I can't be here right now. I can't be with you. I have to go. _Where is Iko_?"

"Charging docks. East wing. First floor. I'll… I'll call you a hover."

She wanted to apologize, but she really didn't know how. She could still feel the residual fear left over from the nightmare she'd had–if that's what it was at all. She wasn't really sure what it had been. It had felt too real and too close and that fact stole all of her guilt from her. She had to get out of the palace, had to get far away from there.

"I'll walk," she said.

Kai slumped against the wall, dejected. "Please stay, Cinder."

Her gaze flashed to the carpet. "I stayed the last time you asked me to, and look at where that got me."

"Cind–"

"Goodbye, Kai."

She all but ran out of the room. Expected him to follow. When he didn't, she was glad.

She knew she would feel bad about this later, but for now, she had to get home, had to take a long shower, had to tie up loose ends.

The Eastern Commonwealth was no longer where she belonged, not with all of the awful memories she had tied to it. And though she had those memories with Kai–those beautiful, short two weeks' worth of memories–they were not enough.

* * *

"You're being irrational," said Iko, walking in-step with Cinder as they headed back towards her apartment. "We don't have to leave, and you certainly don't have to break up with Prince Kai!"

Cinder groaned. "I can't expect you to understand. This is a really complex situation. Outside of the realm of android understanding and reasoning."

"_Cinder_."

She sighed. "That nightmare… I don't think it's the last of them. When I woke up and was back in the same place where that day began, it made me realize that I couldn't be there. Turns out Queen Levana still got something out of what she did to me, even in death."

"I don't compute."

Cinder swiped her wrist across the scanner outside of the apartment building. "I can't be around him anymore. The whole palace just reminds me of when I was trapped in her ship, not even 100 feet from its entrance. And I was _stuck _there. For an entire week. He didn't even–" She stopped talking, stopped allowing her emotions to get the best of her. "Never mind."

It didn't matter anymore. Whatever she and Kai had was over.

* * *

When she finally shut Iko down for the night–more for the sake of being alone than anything, she sank into bed and relished in the comfort.

She'd spent her day clearing things up with clients, making an appointment for the next with her cybernetic specialist–saying she'd gone on a trip and got into a freak accident and that's why she needed a new foot and control panel and updated wiring.

But now that she was finally settled in, the reality of what she was considering set in on her. Leaving the Eastern Commonwealth probably was a bit too far. It was all she knew, and adjusting to a new place would be too hard after everything that'd happened.

Instead, she would just go back to mechanic work. See a therapist; she'd make that appointment tomorrow, though. For now, she just had to sleep. But she had slept so much at the palace–17 hours in all, apparently–that it was hard to grasp at the exhaustion that only attacked her when her eyes were open.

When she got her retina scanner fixed, there was no doubt she'd have numerous comms from Kai. He probably thought she was ignoring him, and she probably would have anyway.

All she'd seen in her vision all day is _CRITICAL FAILURE_, written in red and splayed across the screen in the corner of her left eye like some kind of battle cry. It'd taken some time to get used to it. Now and then, it flashed, and that was irritating.

Cinder couldn't help but think that maybe she'd overreacted. It was only a nightmare. She panicked and reacted to it poorly, maybe, but the fear was still present, invading her chest.

Everything was over, or it was supposed to be. She couldn't convince herself either way.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Sorry it's so short. I'm posting it a day early because I'm going to visit my friend for the weekend (Kohaku Kawa, your favorite non-canon shipper!). I hope you don't hateeee me for this chapter. xoxo


	19. Chapter 19: New Beginnings, pt 1

"So, I guess this is goodbye?" Cress asked, frowning.

Scarlet smiled and pulled the girl into a hug. "It's been fun, Cress. It's not forever, though. You're welcome to the farm whenever you'd like. Just comm me and we'll make arrangements."

"Okay." Cress looked at Ze'ev. "I'll miss you guys!"

He chuckled. "We'll miss you too, Cress. Take care of Thorne. He needs you more than you need him."

Thorne frowned, but it wasn't out of malice. Ze'ev was right, even if he meant to be joking. "I could say the same for you to Scarlet."

Scarlet shoved him before laughing and leaning forward to peck his cheek. A French thing, or something. "See you around, Thorne. Maybe you can come visit with Cress every now and then."

Ze'ev dipped his head. "We'll let you know when we get back to France."

They waved as the two boarded their train.

Cress turned to him. "So, where next?"

Her eyes were so captivating to him that he had to stop himself from letting his gaze linger on them. It was strange to see them in proper lighting. It was like seeing them for the first time all over again. He checked his port. "Well, first, we're going to take the Rampion to a garage in Boston for storage–we should get there around 10 tonight–and then we're going to get a hotel."

"Two beds?"

He laughed. "Well, there is two of us, Crescent."

"Didn't stop you from making the mistake before."

He smirked. "Oh, Cress." He ruffled her hair as they exited the train station. "It was an accident."

"Accident. Yeah."

They both boarded the Rampion and Cress took the co-pilot seat while Thorne got ready for takeoff.

"You know," she said, "sometimes your flying terrifies me just a bit."

He shot her a look. "What do you mean? I'm a good pilot!"

"I wouldn't say _good, _necessarily."

He scowled. "So cruel."

"So honest," she corrected, grinning.

The takeoff was rather rocky, but he really didn't think it was that bad.

As soon as they were in orbit, headed toward the American Republic, he addressed the issue again. "I can't believe you think I'm a bad pilot."

"I never said bad, though I think I almost lost my lunch there."

Thorne narrowed his eyes. "Since when have you ever had anything un-positive to say about me?"

She put her hands up, placating. "I'm just saying."

He grumbled under his breath as he moved to turn on auto-pilot, his ego bruised just a bit.

"I'm gonna go clean up the galley," he said, walking away.

Cress giggled and shouted 'goodbye' after him. Her laugh was so cute and he couldn't help but smile.

He could recall meeting her as if it were yesterday. Barely seventeen, all shy smiles and blushes and fearful eyes as she hid behind her father. She'd just caught him trying to steal her father's hover.

In truth, he wasn't going to steal it. He'd wanted to _borrow _it. There was a difference. A very important and rather distinct difference.

He still remembered how she begged her father, a renowned scientist, not to call the authorities, to instead try and figure out why he wanted their hover. _Canadians_. (Well, he actually later discovered that they were Lunar, but that was neither here nor there.)

It ended with her father offering him a job, of all things. He'd been reluctant to take it, but his daughter was pretty cute and really didn't want him to go to jail. How could he resist saying yes to those eyes?

And now, here they were.

* * *

The stars settled over the city as they went into their hotel room. It was cozy and there were two beds this time, a small desk in one corner, and a netscreen positioned on the wall opposite of the beds. The curtains were a ghastly maroon and white paisley pattern and the blankets were no better, but at least they weren't in a cave or on a spaceship anymore.

Cress let out a yawn and stretched. "Stars, I'm exhausted."

Thorne flourished an arm through the air. "Pick a bed, any bed."

"This one!" She jumped on top of one and it was significantly less bouncy than she would've liked. She grimaced. "Ow."

He laughed and set their bags down, working a crick in his neck and stretching his arms over his head. "Unfortunately, the guy at the desk said that there's a big storm coming in tonight."

Her grimace deepened. "Oh."

"You're not scared of them, are you?"

"N-no. No way."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Convincing."

She harrumphed. "Whatever. I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll join in later."

She turned to shoot him a glare, before giggling and disappearing in to the bathroom, mostly to hide her blush. Stars, he was going to kill her with all of his flirty jokes.

Especially if he never followed through on any of them.

* * *

Lightning flashed through the thin curtains. Cress tried not to whimper as she buried herself under the blankets. She hoped Thorne wouldn't notice, because she felt a little ridiculous. But spades, she was _terrified_. She had never liked storms, especially not when her and her father first came to Earth. Luna was nice and the weather was always the same. And, yeah, the change had been pretty great originally. It snowed a lot in Toronto, and though it did seldom storm, it was never like this.

A loud crack of thunder. She couldn't hold in the terrified squeal that escaped her.

"Cress?" Thorne muttered in the darkness as the thunder receded into the sound of rain against the window. "You okay?"

She poked her head out from under the covers and feigned exhaustion. "Oh, yeah. It just woke me up."

"Okay. G'night."

She snuggled back under her blankets and tried to shut out the sound of the rain and the flashes of lightning.

But the next crack of thunder was much, much louder than the last, and it was immediately followed by the brightest lightning she'd ever seen.

She couldn't stifle the cry that escaped her, causing her to whimper into the pillow and fold into herself more than she already had.

Then, the blankets were being snatched off of her. Thorne's silhouette was standing over her bed, backlit by surges of light from outside. He had one hand placed awkwardly on his hip.

"You're scared of storms."

She wrapped her arms across her body and sighed. "Petrified, really."

He waved a hand at her. "Move over."

Terror filled her completely now. "Wh-what?"

"I'm coming in there with you. You need to be well-rested for tomorrow, and the only way to get you to sleep is if you feel safe. Move over."

She thought to argue, to say no, but she could maybe use knowing someone was there. She tentatively moved over and he lay down next to her, pulling the blanket over him. He propped himself up on an elbow. "C'mon. I'll hold you."

The terror was replaced with anxiety and a longing for him to mean more than just for tonight.

Cress slowly moved to curl into him, just before another crack of thunder all but sent her flying into his arms. He laughed quietly, and his arms encircled her, pulling her against him, her ear landing right against his chest. Right against his heart.

He'd hugged her before, but this was… this was different. And it was nice. And she never wanted it to end.

Unfortunately, his heartbeat couldn't drown out the thunder. As she whimpered, he held her tighter and stroked her hair.

"It's okay," he whispered. "It'll be over soon. We're okay."

The smell that clung to his shirt was almost as comforting as his words and the way his arms around her made her feel.

He had one hand running up and down her back. She wondered if he knew that it drove her absolutely mad.

She did not fall asleep.

It took three hours for the storm to pass and when it did, she traced a finger over the slight curve of his side, her heart still pounding. He hadn't let go once. Not even now that he could.

She just hoped that he was still asleep and wasn't aware that she was touching him like that.

Cress had always wondered what it was like, to be held like that. To be held by him. Now she knew. What a shame that it couldn't happen more.

It took an agonizingly long time for him to finally wake up. The sun rose and the world around her calmed. When he stirred, she realized that she may have gotten a bit of sleep in, but she didn't get deep enough to have a dream.

She did pretend to be sleeping still, though. She kept her breathing rhythmic as he pulled away from her and she tried not to twitch as his fingers brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his thumb trailing across her cheek.

Cress recalled what Cinder had told her. _Catch him off guard_.

Just as she tried to decide how exactly she wanted to do that, he did something else.

The smallest brush of lips across her forehead, and then he climbed out of the bed.

_Catch him off guard_.

She hadn't lost yet.

She wet her lips. "That was cute," she said quietly.

Her heart started to pound. Stars above, why'd she say that?

Her eyes opened and Thorne was staring at her, shock in his expression. "Oh, you were awake."

"Pretty much all night, unfortunately. So I guess your method of getting me to sleep was pretty pointless."

"Pointless? Nah." He grinned, but there was a tinge of nervousness behind it. Only she would've noticed something like that. "W-well. Good morning, Crescent. Are you excited about today?"

Cress sat up slowly and ran her fingers through her messy hair, trying to smooth it down, but to no avail. "Can we not pretend like that didn't happen? I'm so sick of pretending."

She wasn't used to being so forward, wasn't used to not stuttering her way through her emotions. But she wasn't used to a lot of things, and it was time to start at least trying to be.

He softened. "What do you want me to say, Cress?"

The weight of what she was implying set in on her. She shrank back to the bed and pulled the blankets over her, as if it would protect her from the conversation, as if hiding would make him forget she'd ever started the conversation at all. "N-nevermind."

She was such a coward.

Thorne sat back down on the bed and faced her, his chin in his palm, considering. "You can't back out of a conversation you started!"

"I-y-yes I can."

He chuckled. "You're adorable, Cress."

She could barely hear him over her heartbeat in her ears. "…Thank you…?"

"So, uh." He cleared his throat. "As far as apartment hunting goes, how many rooms do you think we should ask for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do we want one room or two?"

Her mouth fell open. She knew he was probably joking, but the question gave her an otherwise unsolicited hitch in her lungs.

Thorne laughed. "It's an honest question, Crescent."

She loved when he called her that, and he knew it. "T-two. Two. Why would we need only one?"

"Well, you know. Once you've had a taste of cuddling with Carswell Thorne, you can't really go back."

Cress was blushing. Ferociously. "D-do-don't be so full of yourself!"

He reached over and took her hand, his blue eyes piercing her own, though they were gentle. "I really like you, Cress."

She wasn't sure what she was doing when she moved closer to him, lifted her hands to wrap them around his shoulders, her body forming into his. All she could be sure of was the way her heart was palpitating and the feeling of warmth from pressing her chest against his. Her eyes fluttered shut and she moved to kiss him.

She was _actually _kissing him! She couldn't believe it. After all this time!

But it wasn't like in the movies. They bumped noses and the both of them had pretty wretched morning breath and it was anything _but _romantic.

Thorne pulled away and smirked. "Not like all those net dramas you love so much, is it?"

She opened her mouth to talk, but she just felt stupid. Excitement was still buried somewhere in her stomach, beneath the anxiety. "N-no."

He reached over and swept a thumb over her bottom lip. "We'll try again later. For now, breakfast starts in an hour and I need a shower."

As he disappeared into the bathroom, Cress went about getting ready, trembling all the way.

She had kissed him. She had been courageous. And it had been awful.

Nothing like the movies. Nothing like her dreams. Nothing like she'd ever imagined.

Absolutely _dreadful_.

She was glad that he took long showers, because it took her that long to brush her teeth and find an outfit for the day.

When the water shut off, the dread settled in her gut again. Stronger this time.

It was ten more minutes before he appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. The smell of his soap permeated the humid air that escaped the small space.

"How do I look?" he asked, smirking and striking a pose.

She shoved her dirty clothes into the corner of her duffel bag. "Handsome."

"Ah, tell me something I don't know, darling."

He sauntered over to her and stood awkwardly in front of her, brushing his wet hair back. She looked up from her bag and he smirked. "So, ready for a redo?"

"Wh-" Before she could comprehend it, he was wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her, his lips as gentle as the fingers pressed into her back. Her eyes slipped shut on their own volition.

It was still kind of awkward. In part because she had no idea what she was doing and he knew exactly how to move his mouth against hers.

She squeaked as he pulled her flush against him and deepened the kiss, as if he couldn't get enough, as if he'd been waiting to kiss her for a long, long time. Her heart was palpitating and she did her best to try and follow his lead, but it didn't work.

Thorne pulled away, laughed. "I guess we'll have to work on that."

Heat rose into her cheeks. "U-uh yeah. Sorry."

A smirk. "Oh, no. It exceeded all expectations."

He walked away from her and picked up his duffel bag, depositing it on top of his bed, collecting his things from around the hotel room. "So, how did you feel about it?" he asked, not a trace of an unnerved tone in his voice.

"It was…." She tried to find a proper word for it. It took a moment. "Perfect."

He grinned at her. "Perfect, huh?"

"Not that I have much to compare it to."

"Oh, Cress. You and your _honesty_."

She blushed, bit her lip, her chest on fire. "You?"

"Like I said. It exceeded all expectations. And once you hone in your skills, _aces_." He laughed again.

Her entire face was probably really, really red. "So you meant it, what you said earlier?" He glanced over at her, questioning. "That you really like me?"

Thorne grinned. "Yeah."

"Oh." She looked away from him, down at the bed. "M-me too."

"I'm glad we're on the same page. C'mon, complimentary breakfast time. Let's go before all of the good stuff runs out."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Storm cuddling may be tropey, but at least it wasn't a nightmare! ;) Also, I'm on summer break now! I'm waiting for my creativity to come back ;_;, so expect some stuff from me! Hopefully soon!


	20. Chapter 20: New Beginnings, pt 2

She rested her head on his stomach, her arm draped over his thighs. He was her favorite pillow. Especially when he mindlessly played with her hair like he was, watching the anchor on the netscreen drone on about Luna's new queen and the set coronation date.

Scarlet tried to ignore it. Killing the queen had been easy–she turned out to be such an easy target. But she still dreamt about the blood everywhere and the sound of the gun going off. Shooting the military personnel with tranquilizers hadn't been a big deal, shooting the Lunar guards without hitting anything vital while they rescued the wedding planner hadn't been a big deal, but murder?

It shouldn't have bothered her so much. It was a necessary evil–as necessary as they come. Queen Levana deserved it after what she did to Cinder, after what she'd planned to do to all of Earth.

It was all true, but it didn't make Scarlet feel any less bad about any of it. It sure as hell didn't make the nightmares stop.

The clock on the news channel read 2:05 AM. If Scarlet didn't sleep, Ze'ev didn't sleep, so they'd resorted to watching the news and making sure all was well, and it was.

Nearly all letumosis victims had received the antidote, and a vaccination was in the works to prevent future outbreaks. Luna would be crowning its new queen in less than a week. Prince Hikaru would be coronated as Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth in just shortly after.

All was well.

Except in Scarlet's head. In her most recent nightmare, she missed and hit Ze'ev instead. The night before that, while they were sleeping on the train headed back to France, the queen had laughed and forced her, somehow, to turn her gun on herself. All Scarlet could do was hope that they would stop being so vivid, because there were points where she felt like she had gone back in time to redo it, only to mess it up.

Finally, her exhaustion started to set in. Ze'ev's fingers had stopped moving against her scalp, and she vaguely noted that he had probably fallen asleep just as she slipped into unconsciousness herself.

* * *

Scarlet moved about the kitchen like she'd never left. This place was so familiar to her and she was only just beginning to realize just how much she'd missed it. It all smelled the same as it had, the scent of rich dirt filtering through the windows, the sound of the wind rustling through the wheat fields on the neighbor's property, just a quarter mile away.

The bacon was settled on a plate as she cracked an egg into the grease it'd left behind. She rubbed mindlessly at the sleep in her eyelids, trying to shake the constant exhaustion that she'd been feeling since they left the Commonwealth.

She was swallowing another yawn as she heard someone approach. "I told you I would make breakfast, Scar."

She turned on her heel and beamed. "Bonjour, grand-mère."

"Eggs and bacon!" said Michelle, making a grand flourish with her head to show that she was taking in the scent. "I can't say I'm upset about not getting to cook this morning."

Michelle moved around her granddaughter to start making coffee, just as Ze'ev walked through and yawned obnoxiously loud. Scarlet grinned. "Oh good, breakfast woke you up."

He walked over and looped an arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her curls. "I hope I never get used to eating real food again."

"I hope you've settled in all right, Ze'ev?" asked Michelle, pulling out three coffee mugs and grabbing the sugar from a cabinet, the milk from the fridge.

"I have. I can't thank you enough for letting me stay."

"Scarlet likes you well enough," she said, bumping Scarlet lightly with her hip as she walked to the table. "I figured there was no point in forcing you to stay in Toulouse when there is a perfect amount of space here for you."

Scarlet's stomach did a somersault. Her grand-mère had always been so supportive and loving, and she had no idea how much Scarlet appreciated it. Words couldn't express.

She shoveled a scoop of eggs into her mouth. "So, Cress commed me last night."

Michelle arched a brow. "Did she?"

"She and Thorne are together now."

"Oh, Luna above, really?" Her grand-mère rolled her eyes. "She could do so much better."

Ze'ev guffawed. "Thorne isn't a bad guy. He's got a shady past, but I think Cress is really good for him."

Michelle harrumphed. "Her father wouldn't be happy with the arrangement, I'm sure."

A shadow settled around Scarlet's heart. "He's not around to do anything about it, though, is he? It's okay, grand-mère. I've seen those two together over the last month or so. I think he really genuinely likes her. And, well, you know how she feels about him."

Michelle shuddered, sighed, shook her head. "Enough about them. How will you two be reacquainting yourselves with Rieux today?"

Scarlet shot Ze'ev a smile. "I'm gonna take Ze'ev to my favorite spot. You know, by the pond."

Her grandmother only nodded. "Ah, yes. Always a good choice. I'm sure he'll love it."

* * *

They'd been walking for a long time. Scarlet kept promising that it wouldn't be too much longer before they were there. He didn't mind the trek, though. It was nice to be with her knowing they were safe. Trees weren't too far in the distance and, past those, he could see a clearing. Scarlet was getting more and more obviously excited as they neared their destination.

The sun was nearing its highest point as noon edged closer and closer. Scarlet let go of his hand and tied an arm around his waist, resting her temple on his arm as they walked – too short to rest it against his shoulder.

He grinned at the small bit of woods expanding before them. "How did you find this place, all the way out here?"

"I was angry with grand-mère once," she said without hesitating. "I was young and just as stubborn as her and I just… I ran. And I found this place. It's been my solace ever since."

Ze'ev glanced down at her. "Why are you taking me? Isn't it being a secret the whole point?"

She tightened her hold on him. "You and I don't keep secrets."

His smile widened and she pulled away from him to step through the brush and bushes, between two large tree trunks.

He could practically smell the small pond, the scent of moss and mist and algae in the air, the bubbling stream that fed into and flowed out of it. Birds chirped loudly in the seemingly-enclosed space.

It was like an oasis compared to the rolling plains of the farmlands that surrounded it. Untouched but for the small, hardly noticeable path that had undoubtedly been carved by visitors over the years.

Scarlet took the blanket draped over one arm and spread it out, sitting down on it and inviting him to sit with her.

It'd been so long since they had this kind of privacy together–well, other than the maglev that they took on their way back to France, but that _hardly _counted.

Ze'ev sat so that she was situated between his legs, and she leaned back against his chest. They soaked up the silence and the serenity of the oasis–the paradise. Of course, he'd almost considered that wretched cave paradise, considering Scarlet was there. But he considered that this could actually _be _paradise.

"This is beautiful," he whispered. He didn't want to break the silence, but he couldn't let her possibly think that he wasn't enjoying every bit of it.

She laughed. "I'm glad you think so," she whispered back. She shut her eyes and inhaled the scent of the nature surrounding them.

Ze'ev knew he could not fix her, that he could not make the nightmares dissipate and disappear on his own, but maybe more moments like this would. More reminders that they were safe. That nothing was wrong. That the earth was on its axis and it was still rotating, that Luna was still orbiting, but that she was so much less a villain in the sky than she had been.

That had mostly been Scarlet's doing. Why did she have to suffer so much for what she'd done?

She tilted her chin up so that she could view him upside down. She smiled. "I love you," she said softly.

He craned his head to kiss her forehead. "I love you too, Scar."

* * *

**Author's Note**: I'm sorry for the short &amp; probably disappointing chapter! There's but a couple of chapters left, and I have to finish writing the last chapter, even though I should have finished it weeks ago, mais c'est bon.


	21. Chapter 21: Reconstitution

It was Sunday. Things were finally starting to feel normal again. Cinder's cyborg brain liked to keep track of the days since she was rescued from her prison cell. As soon as she entered consciousness again every single day, her retina display blinked. Almost like an alarm.

_16 days _was scrawled across her vision before she sent it away. But at least her retina display was functioning again.

She'd been right to believe that she would have numerous comms from Kai. He sent at least one every day, but she had 20 from the first day she left the palace alone. Fifteen for the next. Slowly dwindling down to what they were now.

_How are you?_

_Are you all right?_

_I miss you. Please talk to me._

She had sent them all away with a huff, not heartless enough to block him. Not sure if she wanted to.

Cinder missed him too. It was the coldest truth she had to deal with every single day. Her heart ached for him, her lips famished without the memory of his.

They were only together for three weeks. She couldn't pinpoint why it mattered.

Groaning, Cinder folded another shirt. She shouldn't be thinking about him again. Staying in New Beijing wasn't for his sake, it was for her own. She wouldn't bother trying to go back to him. There were plenty of other choices out there. Non-cyborg women who knew how to handle that lifestyle. He didn't need her.

Nightmares did not plague her. Rather, her evenings were full of his eyes boring into hers, telling her how he felt, that he missed her. That he was so glad she'd come back. She always awoke with remnants of the emotions–elation, excitement, _love_, but shoved them all to the back of her mind. She wasn't allowed to miss Kai. The stars would never align for them again.

Setting the laundry basket back in the bathroom, she grabbed hangers from her closet and started to dress them with shirts and pants. She'd finally ditched the fancy clothes and settled for basic tanktops and cargo pants. Cinder was a mechanic once again, and she loved it just as much as she once had. Didn't pay as much as wedding planning did, sure, but it was natural for her. And besides, all of the money she'd gotten back on all those netscreens sure helped a bit for her savings, along with the final payment from the palace, though the wedding had never come to fruition.

She was okay, and she didn't need anyone to help her feel that way.

Cinder was just heading to the couch to relax when a knock at the door startled her.

With a sigh, she slipped into a pair of slippers and shoved her metal hand into the pocket of her sweatshirt and walked to the door, pulling it open.

Then, she froze.

"Hey, stranger." A cocky smirk and a sweatshirt two, no, three sizes too big for him. "Can I come in? It's a bit hot out here and I think someone saw me."

Gritting her teeth, she stepped to the side. "What do you want, Hikaru?"

"Now is that any way to address your emperor?" He grinned at her, but it quickly faded into seriousness. "Look, I'm here to talk about Kai."

She quirked a brow. "What about him?"

"Don't act like you don't miss him just as much as he misses you."

Her gut twisted. "I-I don't. We were only together for three weeks."

"Oh, so you do count the time you were being held hostage. That's a good sign."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you _want_?"

He made himself at home on the couch, as if she had invited him to do such a thing. His arms spread across the back of it and he rested his head on the cushion. "You didn't come to the coronation."

"It's mostly for VIPs anyway."

"Believe me, you were a VIP." He didn't let her respond. "Are you coming to the ball tomorrow night?"

"Why would I do a stupid thing like that? If Kai misses me so much, I don't think it's a good idea for me to go. He should really work on forgetting me, you know."

Hikaru chuckled. All over-confidence and with uncaring ease. "Forgetting you? Yeah right. You have no idea how much he wants you to be there." He sat up and shifted to look at her, still standing pathetically in front of the door, arms limp at her sides. "Like I said. I know you miss him. So, just come to the ball, and you two can make up and everyone will finally be happy again."

She grit her teeth. "What makes you think that would make me happy?"

"Based on the look in your eyes, of course." He stood again. "I have to go. But, please, Cinder. For his sake, consider it, won't you? You guys had a good thing going and I'd hate to know that some dead Queen ruined it for you."

He brushed past her and left without another word, letting her stand there in her shock and confusion. It didn't matter, though.

Cinder had already made her decision.

* * *

"I don't know," said Iko. "Do you think Kai prefers blue or silver?"

Cinder rolled her eyes. "I told you. This isn't about Kai. I just want to go dance and hopefully meet someone. Besides, it's the annual peace ball. I can't not attend."

She was a terrible liar and she knew it. Iko knew it too. "According to my data, he would prefer the silver."

"Data," muttered Cinder. She considered the dress hanging up on the rack. Sighed. Dragged a palm down her face. "It's a ball gown. I'm not sure."

"But it looks amazing on you!" Iko sang. "And I saw the most perfect pair of silk gloves that I think you'll absolutely love."

"You know," Cinder grumbled, "I liked going back into mechanics because it meant I didn't have to wear all those fancy clothes anymore."

Iko frowned. The most disapproving look an escort droid could give. "Everything was so much cleaner."

"I like the mess."

She picked the hanger off of the rack and draped it over her arm, battling herself internally. Hikaru was all it took to break her defenses down. It took two weeks for her to convince herself she didn't miss Kai, to cloak the emotions in those she could handle much more easily. But then Hikaru showed up and though he didn't strike much of a resemblance to his brother, it was enough to remind her that she did miss him. And maybe she didn't _need_ Kai, but he was a gentleman and he was so sweet and, perhaps most of all, he accepted her completely for what she was. And it's so hard to ignore your feelings for someone when they're as strong as hers were for him.

"Show me where you saw those gloves," she said, defeated in every way.

* * *

The ballroom was dressed in silks of red and gold, the tables surrounding the dance floor held holographic candles and gorgeous bouquets of red peonies. Music from the band filtered through speakers in every corner and crevice, servers-a mix of escort droids and humans alike-carried trays of champagne and appetizers aloft through the small crowds of guests, and the atmosphere was alive and excited.

Exhaling the breath she'd been holding, Cinder stepped in the line for entrance and waited. She couldn't believe she was here, and she couldn't believe that she didn't bring Iko. Though she still had time to leave-

"Ma'am," said a voice. "Your ID?"

Cinder looked up, her gaze met with tired eyes wrinkled at the corners and a bored expression.

She cleared her throat. "Right, sorry."

He scanned her wrist and as she started to walk on, he stuck his hand out. "Ah, Miss Linh. We're happy you've joined us! Please, step over here."

Dread filled her as he directed her to a spot at the top of the stairs. "What?"

But her question was drowned out by prerecorded trumpets playing over the band. "Announcing the arrival of an esteemed guest of His Majesty, Linh Cinder of New Beijing."

She froze at the top of the steps, her heart palpitating. _That idiot_, she thought to herself.

Cinder didn't want Kai to know she was here yet. She wasn't ready for it. And yet, he stepped out from behind a pillar, an expression on his face that she couldn't place, and then he looked at her, standing there helplessly at the top of the stairs. Every bit of attention trained on her.

Time seemed to stop as their eyes met. She offered him the smallest smile, unsure if he could see it from the base of the stairs.

Mustering up her courage, she slowly moved down the steps, her eyes not once leaving his, her hands gripped in her dress, hiking it up so she wouldn't trip.

People were watching them. The music had nearly stopped. She assumed most of them were wondering why she was heading towards Kai, when she was a guest of the emperor. But the closer she got to him, the more the excitement in her grew and the more her anxiety from the attention melted away, the more she could see his smile: nervous, but sincere.

Cinder cast a glance around the ballroom. Everyone was watching them.

Everyone.

Noticing it too, Kai looked around. "Please, everyone. This is a ball. Dance. Enjoy yourselves."

The music picked up again just as she reached him, dropping her hands from her dress and keeping up any and all courage and confidence she could muster.

"You came."

Her eyes scanned his face. She wondered if he knew how tired he looked. He always looked so damned tired. "Of course I did."

Jealous glares could be felt from all around her.

He stuck out his hand, palm up. "May I have this dance?"

Warmth flooded her as she slipped her hand into his and he whisked her away to the dance floor.

"Hikaru came to see me," she said as soon as she started to get the hang of the dance steps. "I wasn't going to come, but he reminded me that I needed to."

He was failing at hiding the excitement in his eyes. "I've missed you so much, Cinder."

Her heart was in her throat. "I've missed you, too. I'm sorry that I left like I did."

Kai shook his head. "It took a few days to really get it. But I understand why you did. Are you all right?"

The hand on his shoulder wrapped around the back of his neck, and though the metal had no nerve endings, there was a phantom feeling of his hair tickling her fingers through the glove. "I'm a lot better now. I've been seeing a therapist."

The hand around her waist moved to grip her. "Is it helping?"

"So much."

She released the hand that was holding hers and moved hers around the back of his neck, too, though the music did not necessarily call for a slow dance.

His free hand encircled her the same way the other was. They were so close now and Cinder's retina display was alerting her to all the new chemicals in her blood. She took a deep breath, sent them away. "I went back into mechanics."

"I'm assuming that's a good thing?"

A single nod before silence was between them and the music and chatting was the only sound in their ears.

Kai pressed his forehead against hers, and she giggled. "I wonder what people are thinking, that the emperor's personal guest is with his brother."

He smiled. "They'll figure it out eventually."

Kai kissed her, and Cinder had no time to react before completely melting into him, her fingers losing themselves in his hair, his arms trapping her against him like she might decide to leave again. She wouldn't. Couldn't.

She pulled away, her right hand cupping his cheek. "You should dance with someone else for a song," she said. "Try to quell the jealousy."

He frowned, but she knew he wasn't angry. "But-"

She cut him off with another kiss. "Go, Kai. I will still be here when you come back."

Reluctantly, he released her. "Promise?"

She bowed. "Promise."

Walking away, she grabbed a champagne flute from one of the trays, and a hors d'ouvres from another.

She found a corner to tuck herself into, but not before a familiar voice spoke. "A personal guest of the emperor, and yet you dance with the _prince_?"

Cinder whirled around, and a grin broke out on her face. "Scarlet! Ze'ev! What are you two doing here?"

Ze'ev grinned. "Hikaru invited us. Cress and Thorne are here somewhere."

She blinked. "I… isn't it dangerous?"

Scarlet shrugged. "No one's suspicious. How have you and Kai been?"

Before she could answer, Ze'ev leaned in slightly. "The way you two were looking at each other, it was like it was the first time you'd seen each other since… you know." He was careful to step around the subject.

Cinder dropped her head, bit her lip. The champagne hung limp in her hand. "I left him the day after I got back. I had a bad nightmare that divulged into a panic attack that nearly shut my brain down." She rubbed the back of her neck, the coolness of her silk glove accentuated by the metal that it hid. "But I've been seeing a therapist and then Hikaru showed up at my apartment yesterday babbling about how I needed to come and blah blah blah."

She giggled and Scarlet and Ze'ev shared a look. "You mean, Hikaru encouraged this?"

"Yeah, but it was probably because he didn't want to worry about Kai being sad. Or something."

Scarlet nodded. "So are you still doing wedding planning?"

Cinder tucked a loose piece of hair behind her hair, silently cursing it for never staying up. "Nah. I was good at it, but it never felt right. I went back to being a mechanic. Makes me feel a lot better about myself. No one would fire a cyborg mechanic like they would a wedding planner."

"Understandable." A sly grin spread across Scarlet's lips. "Wanna plan one more wedding?"

Cinder arched a brow, her gaze traveling between the two before dropping to Scarlet's left hand. "Oh stars, you're engaged!"

Scarlet nodded excitedly. "Just the other day."

"Congratulations!"

Scarlet took Ze'ev's hand. "We're gonna go dance, but I'm sure Cress and Thorne are milling about somewhere. They'll probably hunt you down."

Before they walked off, Cinder brushed Scarlet's arm. "Have you seen Hikaru?"

Scarlet tittered. "Well, about five minutes before you showed up, he went to the gardens with some woman. Very suspicious, considering you're his personal guest."

Cinder smirked. "Scandalous. Explains why he hasn't come back."

"Maybe you'll have an empress," Ze'ev said, amusement bright in his tone.

"Don't be so sure," said Cinder, rolling her eyes.

Scarlet grinned. "Well, it was nice to see you, Cinder."

"You too! Comm me about the wedding when you have a date!"

"We will."

Cinder dipped into a bow and Scarlet and Ze'ev reciprocated before going to the dance floor.

Cinder caught Kai's eye from across the room. He was dancing with a woman, but he was watching Cinder instead. She lifted her hand in small wave and, seemingly satisfied, he turned back to his partner, spinning her out.

She wanted to dance with him again. Any excuse she could have to be near him, though they needed to talk first.

Just as a tinge of jealousy sank into her, someone else was grabbing her attention away from him.

She beamed. "Cress! Thorne! Hey."

"You're looking… alive," said Thorne, smirking.

"Same to you," she muttered, a brow arched. Her eyes snagged on their intertwined fingers and she smiled before snapping her gaze up to Cress. "Catch him off guard?"

Cress blushed. "It was a mutual thing."

Thorne chuckled. "Our first kiss was something else."

"I'm happy for you!" Cinder threw a look around the floor. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

Cress nodded excitedly. "It's always been a dream to mine to go to a ball like this!"

Thorne tugged gently on the girl's arm. "I can't say the same, though it is nice to be here. And I would like to have another dance with my beautiful girlfriend, if you don't mind."

Cinder shook her head, proud that her advice had paid off. "Do continue to enjoy yourselves."

"Oh, we will!"

Cinder sank back into her solitude, finding Kai on the dance floor again. He wasn't looking at her this time, and he seemed to actually be enjoying himself. She smiled. She would not get jealous – she'd no reason to. Everyone had certainly seen the two of them kissing, and it made her feel that much more grateful that there was no media. No doubt photos would surface later, but that was neither here nor there. Cinder didn't really care much anymore.

Let the whole world know. It didn't matter. She was his. And he, hers.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Uh oh, it's almost over! andistillhaventfinishedthelastchapter


	22. Chapter 22: Looking Ahead

Cinder grabbed her messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder. She gave her empty apartment one last sweep before stepping out into the hallway, hand clutched on the door handle. As soon as she shut that door, she'd no longer be granted entrance to it with her ID chip.

Iko whined. "Come _on_, Cinder! They're expecting us there soon!"

"We have plenty of time, Iko," Cinder replied, her eyes still pinned to the bare living room in front of her.

The android was right, though. It was time to let go.

She pulled the door closed with one final breath.

She still fought with herself every day about if this was the right decision. That, if after a year of dating him, Cinder was ready to move _in _with Kai. In the palace. The _palace_. She had to quit her job at the local mechanic shop back when their relationship became public at the last annual ball, and had been working at the palace since. Kai used this as a way to convince her that transport between her apartment and the palace, almost an hour by hover every day, was pointless. And that it was time to take their relationship to the next level. Or something.

On the way to the palace, Iko sat excitedly, jumping up and down in her seat as if she hadn't been there with her every single time Cinder went.

Cinder herself thought about everything that had happened over the last year, from the wedding, Queen Levana's death, Cinder's breakup with Kai and their subsequent reunion, Scarlet and Ze'ev's wedding–which Cinder had done everything in her power to keep a secret from Kai, because even after all of this time, it felt wrong to let their secret out, to the new Lunar Queen Winter being hailed as one of the most progressive leaders of her country.

Had they really come so far? Had they really managed to save Earth _and _Luna from an all-out war?

Well, Cinder refused to credit herself. It hadn't been her bravery at all. She was just another innocent victim of Levana's wrath. Her bravery had made its appearance after Levana was dead, when she was dealing with her PTSD, when she was teaching herself how to be at peace with herself again. It took a lot of pushing and prodding from an unlikely friend, the emperor himself, but she'd gotten exactly what she had needed, and there was nowhere else in life that she'd rather be.

As the palace–her new home–came into view, Cinder's nerves flared up again. Her life had changed so drastically in such a short amount of time that it was hard to fathom that any of it was actually plausible.

But with Iko's presence and almost-palpable excitement, and the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, this new life was undeniably _hers_.

* * *

The day of the annual peace ball arrived in a haze. Cinder had only just gotten settled in and Kai thought that she still seemed happy enough. It was nice to have someone solid and corporeal there to keep him firmly on his feet. Not that anything had been politically problematic as of late, but sometimes he thought things were a bit too easy. But that was another concern for another day.

Cinder had refused to wear a dress to the ball, and he loved her even more for it, especially considering all of the insistence she had to put up with from the palace stylist.

"You were a _wedding planner_," the woman had said, her Swedish accent tinged with frustration. "Surely you understand what fashion means to an important event such as this."

Cinder had only waved her away, requesting, at the most, a blouse and nice pair of pants. And, because she was dating the prince and "potentially"the future princess, she was given just that. And she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"I can't believe you're not wearing a _gown_," Iko whined as she and Cinder approached Kai in the corridor outside of the ballroom.

Looping her arm around Kai's waist, Cinder waved the android away. "C'mon, Iko. We've talked about this. And besides, I don't think I look too awful."

Kai leaned over to kiss her temple. "You look amazing."

She turned to sweep an appreciative gaze over him. Kai felt like he looked the same every year, the only thing ever changing about his outfit being the color scheme, but he knew Cinder didn't mind. "You're not so bad yourself."

He was just about to kiss her when they were interrupted by a voice.

"Your Highness, they're ready to announce you."

He leaned away from Cinder and regarded the man who spoke, and he quirked a brow. "Hikaru isn't even here yet."

The servant stumbled over his words. "H-His Majesty is on his way, Your Highness."

Kai only shrugged. "All right. Thank you."

* * *

As the night wore on, Kai was getting tired. And he was getting sick of dancing with women who were not Cinder, though he knew it was sort of his job, to be endearing and kind. Even if he wasn't available–which, even after a year, still wasn't a widely accepted thing.

Finally, Cinder cut in on one of this dances and asked for a private word with him.

It turned out she was only trying to get him alone, because she was bored of the press bothering her about when her and Kai were going to get engaged. His ears had turned pink as she rolled her eyes, mumbling something about how they've only been together _for a year_! And _honestly, who do they think they are?_

He hadn't planned on proposing any time soon, already knowing how she would feel about it (exactly as she had acted–it was far too soon, in her opinion), but the idea had crossed his mind once. Or maybe six times. He was stupid-in-love with her, after all.

Cinder slumped against him, resting her head on his shoulder as they sat on the edge of the fountain. "I haven't seen Hikaru in a few hours," she said, more to the gardens than to him.

"I'm sure he found some pretty girl to talk to."

"Stars," she muttered. He knew she had to be used to this by now. Though she had only lived in the palace for a couple of weeks, she had learned enough of the emperor's actions over the past year to know to expect this.

Kai decided that a subject change would be more interesting than talking about his brother's conquests. "Hey, Cinder. Who are those couples I always see you and Hikaru talking to? I saw you talking to them last year, but I never really got around to asking about it. They don't seem like they're from here, nor do I think they might be in high positions of power or anything like that, but they were clearly invited."

"I talk to a lot of couples," she said.

"Well, there's the one with the girl who has really curly red hair, and her husband looks like he's a bodyguard. And the other couple is a really short blonde girl and a dude who just radiates cockiness. They kind of just… seem like they don't belong."

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I think the couples are friends, actually. One of them said something about how they had only moved to New Beijing a few years ago," she explained. "I can't account for why Hikaru talks to them, but they just came over to me last year and struck up a conversation and it would've felt rude to just ignore them this year."

Something in her tone made Kai think he should be suspicious, but he trusted Cinder, so he accepted her explanation. "All right. Let's get back inside, then. The ball won't last too much longer anyway."

"Thank every star," she said.

When they got back to the ballroom, the young emperor had reappeared, with his arm looped through that of a gorgeous woman's.

Kai didn't recognize her.

She was nearly his height with brown skin and brown eyes to match, and black hair that fell smooth and straight, just brushing her shoulders. With an amethyst silk sleeveless dress that brushed the floor, her look was perfected with a simple silver chain around her neck.

Kai and Cinder shared a glance, and she just shrugged. "I suppose it's time for introductions."

"Kai!" Hikaru called, his voice easily traversing the distance between them, even while still maintaining an air of diplomacy and poise. His coronation had turned him into a true politician. Kai was proud, to say the least. "Kai! Cinder! Won't you come over here?"

Stars, it was bizarrewhen Hikaru talked to his own twin as if he was addressing the public. Kai and Cinder approached the couple and he tipped his chin to the stranger, offering a kind smile. In his peripheral vision, Cinder did the same.

Hikaru inclined his head toward the woman on his arm, who was watching them with a polite silence. "This is Mali. Mali, this is my brother, Prince Kai, and his girlfriend, Cinder."

"Prince Kai," she said amiably, her strong voice considerably sweet. "It's an honor to meet you."

Kai grinned. "It seems the honor is all mine."

Next to him, Cinder dipped into a real bow. "Nice to meet you, Mali."

Cinder tried to continue, but Kai was quite a bit more than just curious. "So, I don't intend to be rude, but," he met his brother's eyes, "what's the reason for the introductions?"

Hikaru beamed, and Mali gave a small smile as he replied. "Well, you know people have been bothering me about an heir, and I was planning to use this year's ball as a way to, well, find someone I might want to settle down with."

Kai wondered how his brother's new companion didn't look at all embarrassed about this.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"It was a split-second decision."

Kai narrowed his eyes, but then laughed. By "split-second", Hikaru had probably meant "the second I saw her." He shook his head. "I suppose it's forgivable."

The emperor smirked. "Let's wrap this ball up, then, yeah?"

Hikaru left Mali at the base of the stairs with a quick peck on her temple and ascended them to address those who remained on the dancefloor–though there was a considerably small amount compared to the thousands that had been there at the start of the ball.

As his brother spoke, Kai looked down at Cinder, his hand in hers. She looked tired as she watched the emperor address his people, and she looked absolutely content. Their lives were in perfect harmony with each other now, after all of the battles they had fought together, and he knew that they had a long future together.

Cinder was his. And he was hers. And they were unstoppable.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Um. I really have no excuse for posting this late. I'm sorry. This is the end of this fic! I'm sorry! I do have another longfic in the works. No word on when that'll be out. But I have it all planned out &amp; the first chapter written, so... Yeah... I love you all.


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